14 further deaths and 294 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Ireland

The Department of Health has released the latest figures.

14 further individuals have died from the Covid-19 coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Health on Saturday (28 March). All 14 deaths are associated with the east of the country with a median age of 81. The total number of related deaths in the Republic now stands at 36. 294 new cases of Covid-19 were announced in tandem, bringing the overall total in the Republic to 2,415. 49 new cases were announced in Northern Ireland on Saturday, alongside two further deaths. There are now 324 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland. Combined with the latest figures from the Republic, the total amount of cases on the island of Ireland is 2,739. The total number of related deaths on the island of Ireland stands at 51. On Friday evening, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar unveiled new restrictive measures for the country, effectively amounting to a two-week lockdown. On Saturday afternoon, Minister for Health Simon Harris announced that 262 additional nurses and 63 additional doctors have been successfully recruited this week. Harris also stated that the government is spending €225 million on personal protective equipment this year in contrast to the usual annual PPE spend of €15 million. https://twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD/status/1243908701846724616 The government has published a list of designated "essential" workers and their respective status which can be viewed at this link. Traffic proved so high on Friday night that the website crashed, though it has been upgraded overnight to handle the demand. A grace period for organising the wind-down of non-essential services will be in place until 6pm on Monday 30 March. The current list of essential retail outlets, meanwhile, is available here. Official and detailed HSE guidance on cocooning/shielding for those aged over 70 years of age and specified categories of people is available at this link.