LAST UPDATE | 11 Apr 2020

THE CURRENT MEASURES to restrict movement among the public have been extended, as expected, for a further three-and-a-half weeks. 

As expected, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday announced that while progress has been made in slowing the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, an extension of the measures is required for another period of time. 

After this evening’s announcement, a total of 8,928 people in Ireland are confirmed to have contracted the virus – based on the total number of positive tests received by the Department of Health. 

Here are today’s Covid-19 main points:

• There are 33 new reported deaths related to Covid-19, and 553 new cases confirmed in Ireland. A further 286 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed from the backlog of samples that were tested in Germany.
• Restrictions on public movement and other measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 are to remain in place until Tuesday 5 May.
• There has been 128 new positive cases in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in to 1,717.
• Health Minister Simon Harris has said that government restrictions imposed to combat the spread of Covid-19 will be lifted in a “mixed” way whenever they are removed. 
• Gardaí are continuing to man checkpoints across the country, urging people to stay at home if possible this weekend as efforts to flatten the curve of the Covid-19 spread continue.
• People around Ireland are today being asked to shine a light in their windows as part of a national initiative to honour all the sick, those who have lost their lives, frontline staff and healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• The Leaving Certificate has been postponed until late July or August because of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the Junior Cert has been cancelled this year. 
• EU finance ministers this week agreed to a €500 billion rescue deal for European countries badly hit by the coronavirus epidemic.
• A message advising recipients that they were in recent contact with someone who has Covid-19, or who is displaying symptoms, is not from the HSE.
• Sinn Féin has criticised Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann for “unilaterally” requesting help from the British army in tackling the Covid-19 crisis.

Here are today’s Covid-19 main international pointsThe total number of coronavirus fatalities in British hospitals has risen to 9,875.

• The worldwide death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has passed 100,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
• France has reported a lower daily toll for deaths from Covid-19, declaring a “plateau” had been reached in the country’s coronavirus epidemic.
•  The United States has become the first country in the world to have more than 2,000 deaths from coronavirus in a 24-hour period. 
• A Covid-19 vaccine could be available for the general public by September, an Oxford University professor has claimed.
• Over 100 Australians and New Zealanders left Uruguay on a chartered flight today after two weeks stranded aboard a virus-infected cruise ship.
• The New York Times has written a profile piece on how Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has handled the coronavirus pandemic in Ireland: How a Pandemic Rescued the Political Image of Ireland’s Leader.