NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

A member of the public walking past a Cherry Blossom tree in full bloom along Sandymount Strand in Dublin. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• It emerged that 31 more people had died of Covid-19 in Ireland and 527 new cases were confirmed.
• Simon Harris said a number of factors, including ICU capacity and the reproduction rate of the coronavirus in Ireland, will determine the state of play after the government begins to ease back restrictions.
• Gardaí suspect two large telecommunications masts were set on fire deliberately in Donegal.
• The HSE warned of significant shortages in the number of gowns available to healthcare workers.
• Gardaí have appealed to the public for information regarding 17-year-old Robin Harte, who has been missing from Clonsilla since Thursday.
• Police in Fermanagh launched a murder investigation following the death of an 18-year-old on Saturday night.
• Over 100 coronavirus-related fines have been issued in three days in Northern Ireland, police said.
• A third man was arrested in relation to the serious assault of a man in his 20s in Cork last Tuesday.

INTERNATIONAL

A farmer attempts to scare away desert locusts in Mwingi Town in Kitui County, Kenya. Xinhua News Agency / PA Images Xinhua News Agency / PA Images / PA Images

#USA: Bernie Sanders has endorsed his former rival in the US presidential campaign Joe Biden this evening.

#UK: Dominic Raab has said there are some “positive signs” from the latest data that show the UK is “starting to win this struggle”.

#ETHIOPIA: Swarms of locusts in Ethiopia have damaged half a million acres of cropland and driven around a million people to require emergency food aid.

PARTING SHOT

Keep petting your dog, folks, or your cats or whatever pet you have.

Recent reports of animals testing positive for Covid-19 should be taken seriously, but there is still no indication pets are transmitting the disease to humans, the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) has said.  

The council said it acknowledges that recent reports of dogs, cats and tigers testing positive for Covid-19 should be taken seriously, but advises that there is no indication at the moment that pets such as cats or dogs are active transmitters of the disease to humans.  

So, on that note, here’s a picture of a doggo. 

A mini goldendoodle, a mixture of golden retriever and toy poodle, plays with a stuffed animal. The puppy is eight weeks old and answers to the name Baloo. DPA / PA Images DPA / PA Images / PA Images