Author name: oisinkelly

The World Health Organisation says the Government’s strategy on coronavirus is risky and it will take weeks to know if it was the right call. 814 new cases were detected here last night, with two more deaths. Three counties now have a 14-day incidence rate of more than 300. The Government and the National Public […]

A local party representative has said she believes churches should be open for Sunday services under current restrictions. Churches and places of whorship have been closed country wide under Level 3 Covid restrictions, with services advised to move to online service. Meanwhile churches remain open just across the border in Northern Ireland with limited numbers

The Republic and Northern Ireland need to share resources to fight the pandemic — including intensive care beds, according to the chair of the Northern Assembly’s Health Committee. The Derry-Strabane area has the highest fortnightly case rate anywhere on the island. Meanwhile, a circuit breaker could be about to be imposed there in the coming

There needs to be a reduction in infection rates over the next couple of days across the country to show Level 3 is working, according to a Stranorlar based GP. 814 new cases were detected in Republic last night, with two more deaths announced by the Department of Health. 56 of yesterday’s new cases were

814 more people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the Republic, and two more patients have died. The country’s top public health official is warning the rates of infection in 22 counties have more than doubled in the last week. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan says it shows “rapidly increasing growth rates across the

A hospital consultant in Derry says they’re “struggling to find beds” for Covid-19 patients in intensive care today. The Derry-Strabane area has the highest rate of Covid-19 infection anywhere in Ireland or the UK. One thousand and sixty-six people tested positive in the six counties in the last 24-hours. Respiratory consultant at the Altnagelvin Hospital,

A government minister says there’s ‘no plan’ to extend school closures at mid term as part of measures to tackle Covid-19. It had been mentioned at cabinet earlier this week that closing them for two weeks as opposed to one at Halloween could help slow the virus down. Junior Minister at the Department of Education

Sinn Féin says hospitals in the Republic should be drawing up plans to receive patients if hospitals in the North come under too much pressure. The party is calling for officials on either side of the border to pool testing and tracing to fight the outbreak on an all-island basis. 906 cases were recorded in

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association wants to see the number of ICU beds ramped up. It says at the moment there are 281 ICU beds available but it wants 400 to come on stream very quickly. HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid will address its virtual annual conference today. IHCA President, Professor Alan Irvine says non-covid

It’s claimed tighter restrictions aren’t being introduced in Northern Ireland for political reasons. It’s after a record 1,080 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the region yesterday. Almost a third of the North’s 18,200 cases have taken place in the past week – but the region still has less severe restrictions than the Republic. Anne

A Donegal Deputy says the government has failed to recognise the emergency that exists in Ireland’s Gaeltachts, and must introduce more radical changes to the Official Languages Act of 2003. The government is bringing forward a new bill, but Deputy Thomas Pringle says the act hasn’t been fit for purpose for a long time, and

A Midlands North West MEP is urging the EU not to be pressured into doing a rushed trade deal with the UK. Sinn Féin’s Chris MacManus made the comments after the European Commission updated Parliament this week. MEPs were warned that time is running out to reach an agreement. Mr MacManus is welcoming EU commitments

Northern Ireland has seen its biggest daily increase in COVID-19 infections. 1080 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the past 24 hours, there have been no new deaths. In the past week alone, there’s been over five thousand new infections North of the border, with today marking the first time the daily total

  The Principal of St. Bernadette’s Special School in Letterkenny has moved to clarify details surrounding claims of a Covid-19 outbreak at the school. The school was notified on Wednesday that a student from another school but who travels on the same bus as some of the students at St. Bernadette’s had tested positive for

  Negotiations between the EU and UK are at an “end game”, according to the Foreign Affairs Minister. EU and UK officials are holding talks in Brussels, to try to resolve the ongoing controversy over the Brexit withdrawal agreement, aimed at avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland. The European Commission is taking

  Almost 20 samples from drinking water supplies in Donegal have failed inspections for an environmental pollutant this year. It’s the biggest failure rate nationwide with 59 concerns in total right across the country. Irish Water has tested 791 samples nationwide to see if they were within the allowed limit of trihalomethanes which have been

  NPHET says the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital is growing ‘exponentially’. The chairman of its modelling group says an average of 13 patients are being admitted every day. Professor Philip Nolan says ICU admissions are also rising rapidly. The total number of cases reached 40,000 last night, after 506 new infections were confirmed,

  The Dail has been told that Bus Eireann and the government must ensure that there are school bus places for all eligible and concessionary second level students. Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn says the government is striving for 50% capacity on school bus services, and while that would be desirable, it cannot be achieved at