LAST UPDATE | 28 Apr 2020

A FURTHER 59 people in Ireland have died as a result of Covid-19, health officials confirmed this evening.

It brings the total number of deaths in Ireland, including probable deaths, to 1,159.

Additionally, 229 new cases of Covid-19 were announced, bringing the total number of confirmed cases here to 19,877.

Internationally, US President Donald has said the US may seek damages from China over the coronavirus pandemic. 

Here are today’s main Covid-19 points:

• A further 59 deaths and 299 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland.
• According to figures correct as of Sunday evening, 2,638 people with Covid-19 had been hospitalised with the illness. The numbers admitted to an intensive care unit were 358, while 5,414 of the confirmed cases were healthcare workers.
• From today, a patient needs to only have one of three key symptoms – a fever, cough, or shortness of breath — to be tested for the virus. But priority testing will still be in place for healthcare staff, vulnerable people and close contacts of confirmed cases. 
• A decision on relaxing Covid-19 restrictions at the end of the current lockdown period (5 May) has not yet been made, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said. Cabinet was today told there are no indications that virus levels are low enough to ease restrictions next week.
• Thousands of checkpoints will be in place on roads around the country as gardaí seek to ensure compliance with the Covid-19 restrictions over the coming days.
• An 18-year-old man has been charged with breaching Covid-19 legislation in Dublin.
• There have been 31 incidents since 8 April in which gardaí were spat at or coughed on and new ‘spit hoods’ issued to officers have been used 15 times.
• 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.
• President Michael D Higgins today marked International Workers Memorial Day, with Higgins laying a wreath for all those who died during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• Paediatricians have been told to be “on the lookout” for symptoms that have shown up in some children in the UK who have Covid-19, including high fever, red eyes and gastrointestinal issues.
• Children’s Health Ireland has urged parents to avoid delays in seeking any necessary treatment for their child – at a GP or at hospital – as it said patients and staff are being kept as safe as they can during the pandemic.
• Professor Rónán Collins, Consultant Physician in Geriatric and Stroke Medicine at Tallaght Hospital, has said it’s time to rethink making it mandatory for over-70s to cocoon.
• More than 40% of employees are working longer hours from home, a new survey has found. 
• Supermarkets are working with suppliers to keep eggs on shelves amid shortages caused by an outbreak of avian flu and a recent increase in demand.
• Volunteers have begun producing up to 5,000 face shields per week for nursing home workers and other frontline staff. The headbands for the shields are being produced from 3D printers in homes across Clare, Limerick and Tipperary, in schools, and on Limerick Institute of Technology campuses.
• Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, has said the company is looking into reopening outlets but added it is “not an easy task”. “We have set ourselves some key criteria for reopening, all of which take time – first and foremost ensuring the wellbeing of our people and creating the right environment for them to return to work,” Pomroy said.

Here are today’s international Covid-19 points:

• US President Donald Trump has said he may seek damages from China to “hold them accountable” for the coronavirus pandemic.
• New Zealand has started reopening its economy and easing Covid-19 restrictions as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that community transmission of the virus has been suppressed.
• The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t brought under control by next year, the organising committee’s president has said.
• Spain has recorded a slight decrease in the number of daily Covid-19 deaths, as it’s set to unveil plans to relax stringent measures in place since mid-March.
• PA is reporting that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has insisted Covid-19 is just a “little flu” and there is no need for the type of restrictions that have slowed the infection’s spread in Europe and the US. Brazil has reported 4,600 deaths and 67,000 confirmed infections, but the true numbers are believed to be much higher.
• British Health Secretary Matt Hancock was asked on LBC for an apology by the son of a doctor who died after warning the government about a lack of personal protective equipment.
• The arthritis drug Tocilizumab has shown early promise in preventing extreme inflammation in gravely ill Covid-19 patients, according to a French clinical study.

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