LAST UPDATE | 5 Jun 2020

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has announced there will now be four phases of easing restrictions rather than five, as part of the government’s “accelerated road map”.

The Taoiseach confirmed that Phase 2 will go ahead as planned from Monday, while Phrase Three will begin on 29 June and Phase Four will start on 20 July.

From Monday people may travel within their own county, and up to 20km from your home if crossing county boundaries.

All retail shops can reopen from Monday, once safety measures are in place, and groups of up to 15 people can meet for “cultural or social activities”.

People who are cocooning can welcome visitors into their home and groups of up to six people can also meet indoors  – physical distancing should be in place in both cases. 

Internationally, Brazil has the third-highest reported Covid-19 death toll globally, behind the US and UK, with more than 34,000 deaths so far.

Here are today’s Covid-19 main points: 

• Up to six people will be able to meet indoors or outdoors while maintaining a physical distance of at least two metres from Monday. Up to 15 people can also meet for outdoor sporting activities, including summer camps for children.
• All shops will be allowed to open their doors from Monday with staggered hours. Shopping centres will also be able to open from 15 June.
• People will be allowed travel anywhere within their own county from Monday. 
• Up to 25 immediate family and close friends may attend funeral services for loved ones from Monday.
• The country’s playgrounds will also reopen next week, while outdoor summer camps will operate for secondary school children. 
• Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has confirmed the government’s wage subsidy scheme has been extended until the end of August. 
• The pandemic unemployment payment has also been extended into August, but it will be a two-tier payment from 29 June, Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty said. For those who were on less than €199.99 a week prior to the crisis, they will be given €203 a week. 
• Here are the Phase Two measures set to be in place from next week. 
• Writing for TheJournal.ie, Professor Sam McConkey says if schools went for a trial return this month, they may be up and running by September.
• There has been a “a slight potential increase” in the Covid-19 reproductive rate, according to the Minister for Health Simon Harris.
• Workplaces around the country are grappling with the pandemic-related safety requirements ahead of reopening. 
• People with high blood pressure may be twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than those without the medical condition, according to a new study which included research from a team of experts at NUI Galway.
• A post shared on Facebook has falsely claimed that hand sanitiser can catch fire if left in a hot car.  
• Between 30% and 40% of close contacts of meat plant staff diagnosed with Covid-19 have not been identified or followed up with.
• The Office of Public Works has announced that gates for vehicular traffic at Dublin’s Phoenix Park which were closed due to Covid-19 restrictions will remain shut for now.
• Mental Health Reform, the national coalition on mental health, has welcomed the government’s approval of Ireland’s new mental health policy for 2020-2030 called ‘Sharing the Vision – a Mental Health Policy for Everyone’.
• Leo Varadkar said yesterday that greyhound racing could begin again “some time” this month. “That is not confirmed yet, but that is the intention. It will be without spectators, but it will all be done outdoors,” he said. 
• Representatives from teacher trade unions and school management reps will meet the Department of Education today to continue discussions around the logistics of reopening schools, RTÉ reports.
• Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin will today launch a renter’s survey about the pandemic which asked renters if they have lost income, if their landlord has been helpful, worries about rent arrears etc.
• Over 1,700 Irish companies affected by the pandemic have contacted Enterprise Ireland since March about funding support for hygiene, social distancing and health and safety measures.
• Gardaí have used the powers conferred to them under emergency legislation 289 times as of 30 May, according to the latest report from the Policing Authority. 
• Anti-spit hoods have been used by gardaí a total of 64 times to date, which includes two incidents involving persons under the age of 18. In at least 14 of the 64 incidents either incapacitant spray, a baton or both were used in conjunction with the anti-spit hood.

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

• Brazil now has the third-highest reported Covid-19 death toll globally, behind the US and UK, with more than 34,000 deaths so far.
• Authors behind a large-scale study in The Lancet that raised safety fears over the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 have retracted their paper.
• Wearing face coverings will be mandatory on public transport in England from 15 June.
• Las Vegas has reopened its doors to gamblers as Nevada ends its Covid-19 lockdown. Disinfected dice and socially distanced games were among the measures introduced by officials. 
• The head of France’s scientific advisory council says the pandemic is now “under control” in the country as it cautiously emerges from a lockdown imposed in March.