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Follow the latest coronavirus news in Ireland and around the world on the Independent.ie live blog.
20:00 05/08/2020
The state will guarantee refunds to tourists when ministers approve support for travel agencies
Reports Cormac McQuinn, political correspondent
The government has approved proposals to support travel agents affected by the coronavirus.
Transport, Tourism and Sports Minister Shane Ross presented plans to protect the travel trade industry to the Cabinet.
Aid will be presented as a state guarantee in the form of a refund credit note for holiday packages booked through registered travel agencies and tourist operations in Ireland.
The travel industry may offer the notes to customers in circumstances where they cannot provide a cash refund or a full cash refund.
The credit cannot be for the full or partial refund value along with cash.
18:00 05/08/2020
27 more people have died and others have tested positive for Covid-19
The Department of Health has been notified of 27 additional Covid-19 related deaths, and 156 additional confirmed cases.
There are now 22,541 cases of coronavirus in Ireland.
The death toll in Ireland is now 1,429.
Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Center, as of midnight on Wednesday, May 6 (22,301 cases), reveal:
- 57 pc are women and 43 pc are men
- The median age of confirmed cases is 49 years.
- 2,915 cases (13 pc) have been hospitalized
- Of the hospitalized, 373 cases have been admitted to the ICU
- 6,586 cases are associated with health workers
- Dublin has the highest number of cases with 10,885 (49 pc of all cases) followed by Kildare with 1,312 cases (6 pc) and then Cork with 1,199 cases (5 pc)
- Of those for which the transmission status is known: community transmission represents 61 pc, close contact accounts for 35 pc, travel abroad represents 3 pc
17:20 05/08/2020
The work criticizes the use of predictive qualification as Leaving Cert is canceled
Reports Cormac McQuinn, political correspondent
The Labor Party has used the use of predictive scoring to assess Leaving Cert students due to the postponement of this year’s state tests amid the coronavirus crisis.
His education spokesman, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, said the move to grades calculated with input from teachers and national standardization will be open to legal challenges.
And he raised serious concerns if what he called “outrageous suggestion for school profiling” is to participate in determining outcomes.
Education Minister Joe McHugh announced today that this summer’s exams have been canceled.
Students will have the option to accept a predicted grade or present the Certificate of Exit at a later date.
Ó Ríordáin said the measure could lead to legal challenges.
He said he is “clearly open to legal opinion on whether this Certificate of Departure with a different rating system would really have the same status as the Certificate of Departure 2019.”
15:35 08/05/2020
Unemployment rate in the United States shoots up to 14.7%
The unemployment rate in the United States reached 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs disappeared in the worst monthly loss on record.
The figures are clear evidence of the damage the coronavirus has caused to a now shattered economy.
The losses reflect what has become a severe recession caused by sudden business closings in almost all industries.
Almost all of the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in a month.
14.46 08/05/2020
Ryanair asks Taoiseach to take steps to prevent the Dublin airport crisis from taking advantage
Low-cost airline Ryanair has called on the Taoiseach to take action and reverse the unjustified “parking charges” that are imposed on aircraft landed at Dublin airport by government travel bans.
In a statement, the airline said that while “fully supporting” the travel bans, Dublin airport should not benefit from the crisis “at the expense of customers’ airlines based on the government’s travel bans.”
He asked for the charges, considered “excessive fees” that Dublin airport will not apply.
Ryanair DAC Chief Executive Eddie Wilson said: “It is a mistake that Dublin State Airport should benefit from customers whose planes have been punished by government travel bans. We call on the Irish Government to ensure that these charges are canceled for all airlines. “
14.41 08/05/2020
Students who wish to complete traditional Leaving Cert exams will still have the opportunity according to alternative plans.
Reports Editora de Educación Katherine Donnelly
The radical changes in this year’s Leaving Cert will allow students the option to be assessed through a calculated grading system instead of exams.
However, candidates who want to take the traditional exams, and have the legal right to do so, will also be provided at a later date.
That special Leaving Cert session will take place when it is considered safe to take the exams, but it won’t be time to get into college this year.
Exams scheduled for late July / August are definitely disabled and there will be no Leaving Cert fee for this year
That means CAO applicants will rely on predictive qualifications as the basis for selecting a college setting.
Reaching calculated scores, also known as predictive scores, will be a four-part process, which will involve both national and school-based standardization.
LOOK: Leave certificate canceled when minister reveals alternative plans
The Minister of Education officially cancels Leaving Cert 2020
Education Minister Joe McHugh officially canceled the Leaving Cert exams, due in June.
Speaking in government buildings this afternoon, he said the decision was made with a “heavy heart.”
“The interest of the students should come first,” he said.
Exams have now been postponed to a later date, while students may choose to receive calculated predicted grades in the meantime.
These will be provided by teachers and signed by schools, after the approval of the principal.
This is Plan C, according to the minister.
“There is no simple solution to this problem,” he said, since the State Examination Commission cannot participate in the process.
A special unit will be established within the education department to handle the 2020 Leaving Cert exams.
Students may appeal grades.
“Some students adapt better than others to the new normal,” added the minister.
“I am disappointed that we have not been able to handle things as in previous years.”
02/14 08/05/2020
Harris says he treats all protected disclosures with the “utmost seriousness,” but cannot confirm St Mary’s investigation.
HEALTH Minister Simon Harris said he treats any protected disclosure with “the utmost seriousness” and said it is very important for people to raise any concerns they have.
His comments came after Independent.ie revealed that a whistleblower at an HSE nursing home where 24 patients died from Covid-19 alleged that no effort was made strong enough to prevent deaths.
The staff member at St Mary’s nursing home in Phoenix Park Dublin made a protected disclosure to Mr. Harris and HSE CEO Paul Reid on Wednesday.
Mr. Harris said this morning that he is not legally allowed to confirm receipt of a protected disclosure.
12.42 08/05/2020
No “realistic prospect” of pubs reopening in June, says CMO
There is no “realistic prospect” of reopening pubs in June, according to Medical Director (CMO) Tony Holohan.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Sean O’Rourke program this morning, Dr. Holohan responded to calls made by representative pub groups, calling for bars to be opened in June with strict guidelines for social distancing.
Currently, under the government’s roadmap to reopen the country, pubs are slated to reopen during the final phase on August 10.
“The pubs came to us in March and said that we understand their public health council and we don’t think we can implement it in the pubs and that was the reason why they were asked to close on that occasion.
LOOK: Harris defends response to coronavirus in nursing homes as 23 deaths were reported at one facility
The Dealgan House nursing home in Louth County confirmed that there have been 23 deaths there since April 1, many of them related to the virus.
Concerns about the house, which has been taken over by a group of HSE hospitals, were raised yesterday in the Dáil where Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú said he had heard that the deaths could have been as high as 26.
Mr. Ó Murchú also said that the house staff were told that workers from the RCSI Group of Hospitals will no longer be present at Dealgan House for the weekend.
Unemployment rate rises to 28pc as more than half of young workers lose jobs
April’s unemployment rate rose to 28.2 percent, according to new figures from the Central Statistical Office.
Figures highlighting the impact of the Covid-19 containment measures show that unemployment nearly doubled in April to 694,683 workers as a result of the economic blockade.
Almost one in three people is now out of work, including more than half of the younger workers.
Men (30pc) are more likely to lose their job than women (26.1pc). However, age is the real flaw in the current job crisis.
11.21 08/05/2020
More than 150 GoFundMe campaigns started this week in aid of Pieta House
More than 150 online fundraisers have been set up to help the suicide prevention charity Pieta House this week.
The online fundraising platform GoFundMe reports a “huge increase” in established fundraising campaigns for the charity, which, like many others, has been affected by Covid-19 restrictions.
Its annual Darkness Into Light fundraiser was canceled, resulting in the loss of € 5 million for the charity.
Since the beginning of May more than 150 GoFundMe campaigns have been created which have raised almost € 200k to date.
10.57 08/05/2020
National Plowing Championships canceled in ‘interest of public safety’
It has been confirmed that the National Plowing Championships held every year in September have been canceled. With all the mass gatherings of more than 5,000 banned until the end of August, a lot of doubt had been raised about the event.
For three days each September, the Plowing Championship attracts 300,000 people from around the world to see its exhibitions and trade shows.
However, the event’s deputy managing director, Anna Marie McHugh, said that after a meeting of the NPA executive yesterday afternoon, the decision was made to cancel this year’s event to be held in Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co Carlow.
“It is a difficult day for us, but everyone’s conclusion was the same. In the interest of public safety, running was not an option,” he told RTE radio this morning.
“The Association could never live with the risk that we could have brought a second wave of the virus to Carlow. That is not something we would have wanted to be responsible for,” he added.
Aer lingus waives exchange rates for all trips until September 30
Aer Lingus will not apply exchange rates for all flights scheduled to depart until September 30, the airline said.
Previously, it had waived such fees until the end of May.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the change reflects the fact that disruption to hours and travel concerns are likely to continue throughout the summer.
“We want you to be able to book with ease,” says Aer Lingus.
Changing a flight normally costs € 40.
10.01 08/05/2020
“Strict rationing of PPE caused infections” – Whistleblower from Santa María
A whistleblower in an HSE nursing home where 24 patients died from Covid-19 alleged that no efforts were made strong enough to prevent deaths.
The staff member, who works at St Mary’s nursing home at Phoenix Park in Dublin, has stated that concerns about residents’ well-being were not heeded.
She said she first highlighted concerns with senior management in early March.
Regarding personal protective equipment (PPE), he alleges that there was “strict rationing” and that the staff became infected.
Centurion: No croker bash but Rita Rafter still plans to raise roof to turn 100
Her 100th birthday party at Croke Park may have been suspended, but great-grandmother Rita Rafter still plans to raise the roof.
Born on May 8, 1920, Rita has lived on North Circular Road for 100 years and is considered a legend on the northern streets of the city.
It hit the headlines in 2017 when faced with having to move out of her home as she was unable to afford the repairs that had to be carried out to the ceiling.
However, after an appeal on social media, a kind-hearted builder offered to fix the roof for free.
08.07 08/05/2020
Pandemic unleashing a tsunami of hatred, says UN chief
The coronavirus pandemic continues to unleash “a tsunami of hatred and xenophobia, scapegoat and alarmism,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
He called on Friday for “a total effort to end the hate speech worldwide.”
Guterres said that “anti-foreign sentiment has sprung up online and in the streets, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and anti-Muslim attacks involving Covid-19 have occurred.”
He said that migrants and refugees “have been vilified as a source of the virus and then have been denied access to medical treatment.”
New cases reported in China and South Korea as blockade measures decrease worldwide
China and South Korea reported more coronavirus infections on Friday after reopening economies damaged by devastating outbreaks.
Governments around the world are choosing to accept the risks of easing the pandemic restrictions, which left large numbers of people with no income or safety nets.
In the USA Some governors ignore or creatively interpret White House guidelines to ease blockades in their states and allow businesses to reopen.
An Associated Press analysis found that 17 states appeared to have failed to meet one of the key benchmarks set by the White House to slack off: a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates.
07.15 05/08/2020
EU finance ministers resume talks on virus crisis and solutions
Today, EU finance ministers resume video discussions on how to tackle the economic butchery of the coronavirus that threatens everyone in Ireland.
It is time to assess how much Brussels can really do to help.
How bad is everything?
It gets worse every day. On Wednesday, the EU’s policy guidance commission said the coronavirus would mean the bloc’s economy would shrink 7.7 percent this year with Ireland nearly at that dire average, at 7.5 percent. Yesterday it opened with the ECB suggesting that the contraction could be as bad as 12pc. Let’s remember that recently, at the end of February, everything was talking about economic growth. Also remember that economic growth is what creates and sustains jobs and prosperity.
Renewed hope that we can ease the blockage as new coronavirus cases drop in weeks
New daily cases of coronavirus are at their lowest level in weeks, offering some degree of optimism that Ireland is on track to begin easing its blockade.
Just 137 people were diagnosed with the virus yesterday, while the number of patients in intensive care fell to 76. At one point it had reached 140.
And fewer than two cases are admitted to the hospital daily, four to six last week, according to Professor Philip Nolan of the University of Maynooth, who advises the government on trends.
It also revealed that the R number, which indicates how many people a person is likely to infect with the virus, had dropped from 0.5 to 0.6, down from 5 or 6 in late February or early March. In mid-March, it was around 1.6.
“There has been great success so far and we need to find ways to keep the spread of the virus at a very low level for many weeks,” he said.
Students will have to choose to sit to leave the Cert documents
Radical changes to this year’s Leaving Cert will allow for predictive scores, while students will have to choose to take the exams.
The 61,000 students will have to choose and, in the first instance, they will be asked if they want to be evaluated through predictive scores, which will be based on their performance in school.
But it is understood that candidates who want to take the traditional exams, and have the legal right to do so, will be provided.
A survey of students conducted last weekend showed that 79pc sixth-graders now support the predictive grading option, suggesting that a significant majority would take this route.
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