A NEW COVID-19 information booklet will be delivered to every household in the country in the coming days.

Launching the new booklet today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the guide offers information about Ireland and Covid-19 including how the government is responding, the symptoms of Covid-19 and how you should self-isolate if showing symptoms.

“We now live in a world that has been transformed utterly, perhaps forever. To protect each other we have to keep at a physical distance, but we still must stay connected. An Post is helping us do that.

“This new information leaflet will be sent to every home, free of charge. It explains what we are doing as a country and what we need to do to slow down the spread and keep people safe. It brings together the best advice from our medical health experts, in line with the recommendations from the WHO and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control,” said Varadkar.

He added:

“I encourage everyone to read it when it arrives. We may think we know what we should be doing, but we live in an age where truths, half-truths and untruths are in a constant battle against each other.

“It is very easy to be misled or confused. This booklet cuts through the confusion. In doing so, it performs a vital function at this time, and my thanks to the team in the HSE and the Government officials for putting it together so quickly, and of course our thanks to An Post for delivering it.”

Minister for Health Simon Harris TD said everyone is battling misinformation about the virus and what are the correct HSE guidelines in relation to symptoms, isolation and social distancing from friends and loved ones.

“Across the country, people are worried and concerned about Covid-19. They have plenty of questions and this booklet aims to answer the majority of them,” said the minister. 

Harris urged every family to sit down and read the booklet when it arrives at their home.

“Information is the most important tool we have in this time of crisis,” he said.

The new booklet comes as Varadkar acknowledged today Ireland’s confirmed cases are expected to come in lower that his previous estimate that there could be 15,000 confirmed coronavirus cases by the end of the month.

He said the prediction was based on the assumption there would be 30% to 33% increase in new cases every day.”That hasn’t happened yet,” he said.

New criteria for testing has also bee announced. Now people must have two symptoms before they are referred for a test by a GP.

Chief medical office Tony Holohan explained the reasoning behind the change, stating that about 20,000 people were being tested per day.

Only a 6% yield in positive tests are being returned with that level of testing.

“This tells us that that strategy was leading us to direct our resources inappropriately. It was not helping in terms of our public health management. And it was not necessary or feasible for us to continue,” he said.