LAST UPDATE | 14 Jun 2020

HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed that one more patient has died as a result of Covid-19 in Ireland.

The Department of Health also said that eight new cases of the disease have been confirmed here.

A total of 1,706 people have now died from Covid-19 in Ireland and there has been a total of 25,303 cases here.

Internationally, there are concerns about a second wave of the virus happening in China – but there is optimism in one part of Europe after Spain brought forward its re-opening to tourists by ten days.  

Here are today’s Covid-19 main points:

• One more death and eight new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed by health officials.
• No new deaths were reported in the North for the fifth day out of seven.
• Here is an oral history of the 24 hours that changed everything – 12 March 2020. 
• Health Minister Simon Harris has said the number of patients in hospitals with “continues on a downward path” – 74 patients with Covid-19 are now in hospital (down from 865 in April) and 27 patients are in ICU (down from 144 in April).
• Thirteen employees at meat factories did not receive results from initial Covid-19 tests carried out at the facilities where they work and had to be re-tested. The average waiting time for people to be re-tested was 16 days.

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

• China has reported 57 new cases of the virus, the highest daily figure since April. Parts of Beijing have been locked down after the emergence of a new cluster linked to a wholesale food market.
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a comprehensive review of the two-metre social-distancing rule amid calls it should be scrapped in the UK, PA reports.
• One more person has died from Covid-19 in Scotland, taking the death toll to 2,448. The overall number of cases stands at 15,755. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today said she expects restrictions to to ease as planned in the coming weeks. 
• Spain will re-establish free travel with fellow EU countries on 21 June, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced. However, the land border with Portugal will remain closed until 1 July, AFP reports. 
• Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands have signed an agreement with pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca to guarantee the supply to the EU of 300 million doses of a possible coronavirus vaccine.
• Brazil has recorded 42,802 deaths – the country is now second in terms of overall deaths behind the US.
• Thousands of people defied coronavirus restrictions to attend two illegal raves in Manchester in northern England.