There was one new Coronavirus death today – meaning 1,742 is the death toll in Ireland now.
While there has been a total of 24 new cases of Coronavirus have been diagnosed in Ireland today.
That means there is now a total of 25,538 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “As of 5pm this evening, the Covid Tracker App had approximately 545,000 downloads. This is one more example of the solidarity and collective spirit that has characterised the Irish public’s response to COVID-19 to date.
“The app is an important tool to support our contact tracing systems. It has the potential to reduce the time that people are active in the community with infection, which will have a significant impact on the transmission of the disease.
“The more people who download and use this app, the more effective it will be. It is a further opportunity for us to play our part in the response to COVID-19.”
Foreign travel
The President of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) Alan Mongey told an Oireachtas Covid-19 Committee that parents taking their children on foreign holidays will present ‘significant challenges’ to the full reopening of schools in September.
Mr Mongey said: “If parents want students returning to school in September, then heading off on a foreign holiday to Portugal or Spain will present significant challenges to schools accepting those students in September.
“This is all about trying to keep Covid-19 out of schools and trying to maintain safe, healthy practises within schools.”
Mr Mongey said schools wanted a full return, but he said that significant levels of preparation needed to be done if schools were to reopen in late August and September and that school leaders would need assistance.
Important information
Symptoms of Covid-19 include:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Fever
- Breathing difficulties.
Further resources:
- The HSE: Official advice on the coronavirus in Ireland. This is being updated based on the number of confirmed cases and how the virus spreads in Ireland.
- The Department of Foreign Affairs: Official advice on where to avoid travelling to. Also a resource for those who are abroad.
- The World Health Organization (WHO): The UN agency on global public health publishes statements and daily situation reports based on the latest data.
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): The EU agency on the number of cases, deaths and how it’s spreading in Europe.
- The Johns Hopkins University map: A heat map of the confirmed cases across the world.
A helpline for older people who are concerned about the coronavirus has been launched by Alone. The number is 0818 222 024, and it’s open Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm.
