LAST UPDATE | 24 Apr 2020

A FURTHER 28 deaths of patients diagnosed with Covid-19 and 936 new cases in Ireland were confirmed by the Department of Health yesterday evening.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Ireland to 17,607. The total lab-confirmed deaths related to Covid-19 is now 794.

The reproduction rate of the virus is now between 0.5 and 0.8 – meaning that half of the people who get Covid-19 don’t spread the virus on to another person, and the other half spread it on to just one other person.

Internationally, health experts have criticised US President Donald Trump for suggesting that disinfectant could be injected into the body as a treatment against Covid-19 –an approach that is not backed by any medical evidence.

Here are today’s main Covid-19 points:

• There have been 37 deaths, a further 185 ‘probable deaths’ and 577 new cases confirmed in Ireland at today’s briefing.
• It was also confirmed by health officials that five healthcare workers diagnosed with Covid-19 have died.
• Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned the public against “slacking off” with restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19 as new data indicates people are out and about more in the last week.
• Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time, Health Minister Simon Harris said the next 12 days, up to 5 May, are crucial “because the more we can suppress the virus, the more headroom, for want of a better word, we give ourselves in terms of options”.
• Holohan said 319 clusters have been identified in long-term residential care settings, and 191 of these are nursing homes. Questions remain about how the virus spread so easily through nursing homes.
• The reproduction rate of the virus is now between 0.5 and 0.8, Professor Philip Nolan of the National Public Health Emergency Team has said. This means that half of the people who get Covid-19 don’t spread the virus on to another person, and the other half spread it on to just one other person.
• Senior government official Liz Canavan warned the danger has not yet passed as data from Dublin Bus shows an increase in the number of journeys taken this week.
• Irish insurers have signed up to a commitment on premium reliefs for motor insurance customers in a recognition of the lower volume of claims due to the restrictions on travel. 
• A third of coronavirus-related deaths in Northern Ireland are happening care homes, new figures have said. 
• The Leaving Cert exams will begin on Wednesday 29 July, Education Minister Joe McHugh has confirmed. 
• McHugh has also announced that families will receive refunds for school transport fees for periods of schools closures.
• Families will receive refunds for school transport fees for periods of schools closures at the end of the school year, the Education Minister announced today
• A 19-year-old man in Dublin has been charged with breaching Covid-19 legislation.
• Over half of Irish consumers believe that the Covid-19 crisis will affect their household finances either substantially or somewhat, according to a new survey.
• Women who return to work from maternity leave are ineligible for the Covid-19 wage subsidy, trade unions have said. 
• People arriving in Ireland will be checked to ensure they are self-isolating, under new measures.
• Trade union Fórsa wants ‘Section 39’ agencies, which provide services to society and local communities, and their staff be brought under the remit of the HSE for the duration of the pandemic.
• The Irish Cancer Society urgently requires nurses to help deal with a recent increase in the demand for end-of-life care at home.
• Ulster Bank has introduced a new companion debit card for older people who may be cocooning and relying on another person to purchase essential goods for them while they self isolate.
• 10,000 face masks have been sent to Cork by the Minzu University of China (MUC) in Beijing, a partner university to University College Cork.
• Tesco Ireland today confirmed that it has expanded its Click & Collect services for shoppers across ten different counties during Covid-19.
• National Lottery players who scoop more than €15,000 will not be able to collect their winnings because of coronavirus restrictions, it has been confirmed.

Here are today’s international Covid-19 points:

• US President Donald Trump has suggested that disinfectant could be injected into the body as a treatment against Covid-19 – a suggestion not backed by any medical evidence and sharply criticised by health experts.
• Disinfectant manufacturer – the company behind Dettol – has said under no circumstances should its products be administered into the human body following Trump’s comments.
• After hours of commentary, Trump defended his comments today as simply being “sarcasm”.
• An economic package worth €500 billion has been endorsed by EU leaders and is to be in place by 1 June to help European countries begin recovering from the pandemic. 
• Tech giants are set to face MPs questions in the UK over coronavirus disinformation.
• Businesses and schools in Belgium will gradually reopen from the middle of May, easing a lockdown imposed in mid-March to curb the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes announced.
• Spain recorded 367 new virus deaths today, the lowest daily total in a month. 
• Italy is to begin easing its lockdown over the next four weeks, local media reported.
• Austria has said it will start reopen schools from 4 May. 
• The first people have been injected as part of human trials in the UK for a coronavirus vaccine.
• Remdesivir, a drug that had been showing promising results in treating some Covid-19 patients, has failed in its first randomised clinical trial, inadvertently released results show.

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