LAST UPDATE | 28 May 2020

FROM TODAY, PEOPLE who arrive in Ireland will have to fill in a Passenger Locator Form, to help with contact tracing  

The requirement to fill out the form does not apply to people arriving from Northern Ireland, nor does it apply to diplomats or workers essential to supply chains. 

Meanwhile, Health Minister Simon Harris has highlighted that 22,089 people have recovered from Covid-19.

This evening, the Department of Health confirmed that a further nine people have died from the virus and 46 new cases were confirmed. 

Since the beginning of the outbreak, there have been 24,841 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 1,639 people have died.  

Here are today’s Covid-19 main points:

• Nine more deaths and 46 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland.
• The sudden loss of taste and smell is to be added to the list of symptoms of Covid-19, the Department of Health confirmed.
• HSE chief Paul Reid acknowledged there are ‘obvious gaps’ in the governance of private nursing homes and said the target of having 90% of tests for Covid-19 turned around in three days has not been met. 
• Austerity measures could worsen the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic if undertaken too soon, according to the ESRI.
• Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he will bring a proposal to Cabinet tomorrow to address the anomalies in the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme relating to women returning from maternity leave.
• Donohoe also told the Dáil he does not think people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment are “living it up”.
• From today, people arriving into Ireland will be required to fill out a mandatory Passenger Locator Form detailing where they will be staying.
• Education Minister Joe McHugh has said it is difficult to see all students being able to return to school in September if the two-metre social distancing rule remains in place. 
• Over 98% of Leaving Cert students have signed up for the Calculated Grades system.
• The Women’s Mini Marathon, which was due to take place on Sunday in Dublin, has been cancelled. 
• Four out of five Ryanair passengers in the UK who requested a refund after their flight was cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic are still waiting for a pay-out.

Here are today’s international Covid-19 points:

• There have been almost 5.7 million cases of Covid-19 globally and over 355,000 people have died of the disease. 
• Durham Constabulary has said Dominic Cummings may have committed a minor breech of lockdown rules but will face no further action. 
• Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the country will begin to ease its lockdown measures from tomorrow. 
• The Covid-19 death toll in the US has surpassed 100,000 people – the highest of any country in the world – Johns Hopkins University has confirmed.
• The UK has registered 59,537 more deaths than usual since the end of March – the highest rate of deaths from the coronavirus among countries with comparable data, reports the Financial Times.
• The BBC has said that Emily Maitlis’ introduction to Newsnight, which discussed the Dominic Cummings lockdown row, “did not meet our standards of due impartiality”. 

With reporting by Órla Ryan 

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