LAST UPDATE | 13 May 2020

THE DEPARTMENT OF Health this evening confirmed that a further 10 people with Covid-19 have died in this country. 

It comes as questions continue about the length of time people are waiting for test results ahead of next week’s planned lifting of some restrictions. 

Elsewhere, the top infectious diseases expert in the US has warned about the risk of reopening states  too quickly. 

Ireland

• Health officials have confirmed a further 10 deaths of patients with Covid-19 and 426 new cases of the disease in Ireland.
• Manual errors and a lack of integration of computer systems are contributing to delays in people receiving their Covid-19 test results in Ireland.
• Covid-19 restrictions are set to begin being lifted from next Monday if certain conditions have been reached, so what needs to happen?
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the country is “going in the right direction” to meet the conditions. 
• The Health Information and Quality Authority has said children are not substantially contributing to the spread of Covid-19 in their household or in schools.
• A number of people staged a demonstration at a garda checkpoint in Galway on Monday in a protest over garda policing of the current Covid-19 regulations.
• The High Court has has dismissed a legal challenge by John Waters and Gemma O’Doherty against the emergency Covid-19 laws.  
• Twitter has said its employees can work from home permanently if they wish. The company employs about 200 people in Ireland. 

World

• The European Commission has said airlines must give passengers refunds for cancelled flights, and that vouchers alone won’t do. 
• Dr Anthony Fauci has told a US Senate committee that ending lockdowns too quickly could bring severe consequences. 
• The US Democratic party is moving towards holding a virtual presidential nominating convention this August. 
• Facebook has said it has flagged Facebook says it’s flagged 50 million misleading posts about the coronavirus since March
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for ‘proper marshalling’ at train stations to stop crowding on public transportas England eases lockdown measures. 
• An insect repellant is is being given to members of the British Armed Forces “as an added layer of protection” against coronavirus.
• More than £10,000 has been raised for the family of UK railway ticket office worker Belly Mujinga who died with coronavirus after being spat at while on duty. The UK Transport Secretary has said around 50 transport workers have died during the crisis.
• Russia reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 242,271.
• A 113-year-old woman believed to be the oldest person living in Spain has survived after contracting Covid-19. 
• Austria and Germany plan to open their border on June 15 after being closed for two months.