LAST UPDATE | 28 Apr 2020

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #RESTRICTIONS: Health Officials have said relaxing coronavirus restrictions at the end of the current lockdown period will go down to the wire after a further 18 deaths were confirmed in Ireland. 

2. #DON’T STAND SO: Concerns have been raised about how enforcement of physical distancing guidelines will work in shops, businesses and manufacturing facilities once officials begin to relax restrictions.

3. #NEW ZEALAND: The country has started reopening its economy and easing Covid-19 restrictions as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced community transmission of Coronavirus has been suppressed. 

4. #FOUR COURTS: Additional security is expected at the Four Courts this morning amid concerns that a large crowd may gather again for High Court action brought by John Waters and Gemma O’Doherty.

5. #DRUG USE: A new report has highlighted the increase in deaths and non-fatal overdoses involving prescribable drugs in recent years in Ireland.

6. #UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump has said he may seek damages from China to “hold them accountable” for the coronavirus, and appeared to confirm that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is alive.  

7. #OUTTAGE: Virgin Media has said it is investigating what it described as “an intermittent broadband issue” that affected Irish customers yesterday evening.

8. #UNITED IRELAND: A survey has revealed one-third of Irish people believe there will be a united Ireland in the European Union in the next ten years.

9. #WORK FROM HOME: A new survey has found that over four in ten employees working from home in Ireland are working longer hours than they would in a standard working day.