LAST UPDATE | 23 Apr 2020

A FURTHER 28 deaths of patients diagnosed with Covid-19 and 936 new cases in Ireland have been confirmed by the Department of Health this evening. 

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Ireland to 17,607. The total lab-confirmed deaths related to Covid-19 is now 794.

The reproduction rate of the virus is now between 0.5 and 0.8, according to Professor Philip Nolan of the National Public Health Emergency Team. 

Internationally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said Covid-19 will be with us for a long time, and two cats have become the first pets to test positive for the virus in the US.

Here are today’s main Covid-19 points:

• Health officials have confirmed a further 28 deaths of patients diagnosed with Covid-19 and 936 new cases in Ireland.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar faced questions from opposition leaders today on the lack of transparency around decision-making during the Covid-19 crisis. 
• In the Dáil today, health minister Simon Harris said that the reproductive rate of the virus had fallen further – meaning that for every one person who contracts Covid-19, they will infect no more than one other person. 
• Leo Varadkar will today urge fellow EU leaders to consider mutual sharing of the debt member states are incurring as they battle Covid-19.
• The government’s offer to address the childcare challenges of healthcare workers “actively discriminates” against single parents and will not help the vast majority of nurses, the INMO has said.
• Minister for Education Joe McHugh has said in the Dáil that the Leaving Cert will begin on Wednesday 29 July. 
• Seven in 10 parents of Leaving Certificate students are not in favour of the decision to defer exams, according to a survey by the National Parents Council. 
• The highly contagious nature of Covid-19 has highlighted the unsuitability of some accommodation in the Direct Provision system, Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has said.
• The government has said that there has been no significant rise in the number of cars on Irish roads, despite “anecdotal” claims of increases in traffic volumes.
• Communications Minister Richard Bruton has said he does not intend to seek a moratorium on TV licence payments, due to the importance of public service broadcasting, during the Covid-19 crisis.
• It is not necessary to disinfect the outside of food packaging after buying it in the supermarket, a specialist in microbiology at Safefood has advised. 
• Gardaí have made a number of large seizures of drugs and other illicit items which otherwise would have arrived at their intended destinations as part of the increased number of checkpoints to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
• The Mongolian community in Ireland has raised €7,500 for the Mater Hospital in Dublin as fundraising efforts continue around the country. 
• A new survey by Core Research of 1,000 people shows that 70% of people in Ireland believe the Covid-19 outbreak will last beyond September and into 2021. It also shows 62% of people are optimistic that Ireland will overcome the outbreak of Covid-19. 69% of people approve of how citizens are handling the outbreak.
• Belfast solicitor Niall Murphy has spoken of his recovery from Covid-19 after he spent 16 days in an induced coma. 

Here are today’s international Covid-19 points:

• Covid-19 will be here for a long time to come, the WHO has said, warning that most countries are still in the early stages of tackling the pandemic.
• South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said a five-week nationwide coronavirus lockdown would be slowly eased starting from 1 May.
• Diverting the scarce healthcare resources of developing countries to the rapidly expanding Covid-19 pandemic could see a 45 percent jump in child and maternal mortality before the end of the year, an international health consortium warned 
• US President Donald Trump claims he has signed an executive order “temporarily suspending immigration into the United States” – but experts say the order will merely delay the issuance of green cards for a minority of immigrants.
• Two people who died in California in early and mid February have been confirmed through autopsies as coronavirus cases – weeks before the first reported Covid-19 fatality in the United States.
• Two cats in New York state have tested positive for Covid-19, marking the first confirmed cases in pets in the US, federal officials have said.
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that preliminary data from 3,000 antibody tests shows that 13.9% are positive for antibodies.

Comments are closed for legal reasons. With reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha.