LAST UPDATE | 17 May 2020

BUSINESSES ACROSS THE country are preparing to re-open tomorrow, when Ireland officially enters Phase One of the government’s roadmap for easing Covid-19 restrictions.

Although the majority of workplaces will remain closed, tomorrow will see the return of some non-essential retail services such as garden centres and hardware stores, as well as outdoor workers like gardeners and construction workers.

Last night, health officials announced 92 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, the lowest number of new daily cases since the middle of March.

Here are today’s Covid-19 main points:

• The Department of Health has confirmed a further 10 deaths from Covid-19 along with 64 new cases of the virus in Ireland.
• HSE chief Paul Reid has said he is satisfied that the reporting of 244 Covid-19 cases from the Mater Hospital in Dublin complied with legal requirements, despite an anomaly which emerged earlier this week.
• Businesses are continuing preparations to re-open tomorrow, when the first phase of the government’s roadmap for easing Covid-19 restrictions begins.
• Health officials confirmed a further 15 deaths from Covid-19 last night, along with 92 new cases of the virus in Ireland – the lowest number of new cases since mid-March.
• Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has called for a cross-party agreement on a mechanism to stop women returning from maternity leave from being excluded from the government’s wage subsidy scheme.
• Minister for Transport Shane Ross has indicated that learner permits will not be extended beyond their expiry date until driving tests are allowed to resume
• The Association of Optometrists Ireland has encouraged the public with eye-care needs to go to their provider ahead of their re-opening tomorrow.

Here are today’s international Covid-19 main points:

• Barack Obama has criticised some officials overseeing the coronavirus response, saying many “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”.
• Boris Johnson has called for more patience from the UK as the country plots a course back to normality from the Covid-19 crisis.
• The combined annual wealth of those on the Sunday Times Rich List has fallen for the first time in a decade, with the pandemic hitting the value of assets owned by the super-rich.