LAST UPDATE | 17 Apr 2020

HEALTH OFFICIALS SAID yesterday that Ireland has 13,980 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 530 people with the disease have died. 

This is after a further 44 deaths were confirmed this evening, 597 confirmed cases, and 112 confirmed from German labs out of the March backlog. 

Yesterday evening, 43 more deaths and 629 new cases were announced in Ireland. An additional 95 cases from a testing backlog were also confirmed by a lab in Germany. 

The cases confirmed from the lab in Germany represent the processing of a backlog of Irish samples, some of which date back to mid-March. The HSE has said it is hoped the backlog would be eliminated this week. 

Here are today’s Covid-19 main points:

• A further 44 deaths and 597 cases have been confirmed in Ireland today, with 112 confirmed from the March backlog. This bringing the total to 530 Covid-10 related deaths, and 13,980 cases.
• 294 people with Covid-19 have been admitted to ICU.
• An escalation in testing is going to take place in nursing homes now: nursing homes where there have been confirmed cases will be prioritised, as well as the staff in care centres were there are no confirmed cases.
• Simon Harris said he hopes to ease restriction measures in May, but warns not to expect ‘significant lifting of restrictions’. 
• 11 Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded over the space of two weeks at a Dublin care home for older people.
• At least 41 people have died from Covid-19 in care homes and hospices in Northern Ireland. The figure represents around a quarter of the overall tally and involves 23 separate establishments.
• Summer courses at more than 20 Gaeltacht colleges have been thrown into doubt this year due to the Covid-19 emergency. 
• People with Covid-19 in Ireland are now infecting less than one other person each, health officials said yesterday.
• Dublin City Council has received legal advice on where the next council meeting will take place as under Local Government legislation it is not possible for the full city council to meet remotely. The council is hoping the 11 May meeting will have a reduced attendance – it needs at least 17 councillors for the meeting to be considered valid. 
• People have been using online library services a lot more lately – over 30,000 people joined in March compared to the same month last year, there has been a 313% jump in new users of eBooks and eAudiobooks, a 467% increase in e-learning courses being taken and a 246% increase in usage of online newspapers/e-magazines. 
• The Commission for Regulation of Utilities has extended the moratorium on the disconnection of household gas and electricity to 16 June. Emergency credit levels for all gas prepayment customers have also been increased from €10 to €100.
• More than €22,000 was raised to provide tablets to Covid-19 patients in hospitals to help them contact loved ones.
• Nearly one in 10 (9.2%) diagnosed Covid-19 cases in Ireland are nurses, according to HSE figures.
• Chaplains in some of Dublin’s hospitals have described their experience providing care to people at the end of their lives and helping bereaved families of Covid-19 patients. 
• Tributes have been paid to the two Kilkenny healthcare workers who died from Covid-19, who are among the 486 people who have sadly passed away with the virus in Ireland so far.
• The Department of Education and Skills met with a range of stakeholders today as part of planning for the State Examinations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland has welcomed confirmation from the government that commercial rates are being suspended while pubs are closed but said that more business supports need to be introduced if the sector is to remain viable. 
• Fr Éamonn Ó Gallachóir, parish priest in Cill Chartha in southwest Donegal, told RTÉ’s Raidió na Gaeltachta that priests should be entitled to the state Covid-19 payment of €350, particularly younger priests who wouldn’t have much money.
• The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has welcomed the new government campaign to emphasise that domestic and sexual violence support services from State agencies and the voluntary sector are still going during this time. 

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

• The Chinese city of Wuhan has revised its coronavirus death toll to 3,869, increasing the number of fatalities by 1,290.
• UK lockdown measures have been extended for three more weeks as the number of coronavirus cases pass 100,000. 
• New White House guidelines outline a phased approach to restoring normal commerce and services, but only for places with strong testing that are seeing a decrease in Covid-19 cases.
• A growing wave of unrest over Covid-19 lockdown measures appears to be rising in the US, with a number of protests taking place this week in various states.