# Covid-19

Last week

12th March 2023 - 18th March 2023

HSE to launch survey to measure prevalence of long Covid in Ireland

People in Longford, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, West Wicklow and south Dublin will be invited to take part in the survey.

10.9k

Mar 13th 2023, 4:51 PM

# Mercy University Hospital

Cork hospital advises patients to avoid ED due to Covid-19 and winter vomiting bug surge

Mercy University Hospital advised that ‘patients are and will continue to experience delays’.

9.7k

Mar 13th 2023, 1:47 PM

Voices

Opinion: If global leaders can't agree on the origin of Covid then what hope for future crises?

As global superpowers continue their war of words over the origin of Covid, Seána Glennon says the lack of cooperation doesn’t bode well for the future.

8.4k

Mar 12th 2023, 7:30 AM

This month

March 2023

# debunked

Debunked: No, the first man to receive Pfizer's Covid vaccine did not die because of the jab

William Shakespeare was the second person to receive the vaccine in December 2020.

1.7k

Mar 10th 2023, 3:57 PM

# contact tracing

Covid Tracker app expected to be 'decommissioned' by this summer

The app cost €811,227 to launch with over €100,000 spent on support and development in the six months after it launched.

12.4k

Mar 10th 2023, 6:00 AM

# Working Hours

Garda contingency roster introduced during Covid pandemic extended for six months

The contingency roster had been due to expire next month, but will remain in place until 3 September.

7.3k

Mar 7th 2023, 3:52 PM

# Covid-19

HSE bought 10 times more ventilators than necessary, hundreds of which were unusable

The HSE spent €129 million on ventilators, buying nearly twice the number approved by the Department of Health.

14.4k

Mar 7th 2023, 3:45 PM

# Covid-19

Former NPHET member: Long-term school closures were 'not required'

Professor Cormican was speaking this morning to RTÉ’s Brendan O’Connor.

28.7k

Mar 4th 2023, 4:13 PM

# matt hancock

Leaked messages reveal Matt Hancock hit out at Sunak over ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Covid scheme

The messages reveal Hancock had serious concerns about the scheme designed to support restaurants, dubbing it the ‘eat out to help the virus get about’.

13.9k

Mar 4th 2023, 10:38 AM

# Covid-19

UK ministers reportedly considered culling pet cats at start of pandemic over health fears

‘What we shouldn’t forget is how little we understood about this disease,’ a former UK Health Department deputy told Channel 4 News.

12.9k

Mar 1st 2023, 8:26 PM

# breda smyth

'Go back to doing the things you love': CMO writes post-pandemic open letter to older people

Prof Breda Smyth said she wanted to reassure people who were concerned about the spread of Covid that it is safe to go out and about.

11.4k

Mar 1st 2023, 12:26 PM

# lab leak theory

FBI Director says origins of Covid-19 'most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan'

In response, Beijing accused Washington of harming its own credibility with the claims.

14.6k

Mar 1st 2023, 12:19 PM

Last month

February 2023

# Vaccines

Former NPHET member says mandatory Covid vaccines should have been considered

Professor Cormican also said that the intensity of lockdown measures meant that some vulnerable people were ‘effectively abandoned for months’.

24.9k

Feb 27th 2023, 3:07 PM

# Coronavirus

US report concludes with 'low confidence' that Covid-19 'likely' originated from Wuhan lab

The classified report was delivered to senior figures on the US’s House and Senate Intelligence committees last month.

18.6k

Feb 27th 2023, 11:27 AM

# Widower's Pension

Supreme Court to hear appeal against refusal to grant widower’s pension to an unmarried father

The Supreme Court panel said John O’Meara and his three children’s challenge raises points of general public importance.

25.3k

Feb 21st 2023, 7:40 PM

# debunked

Debunked: There is no evidence that more 15-year-olds are dying of heart attacks due to vaccines

A claim shared on Irish social media suggests vaccines are killing 15-year-olds.

531

Feb 21st 2023, 1:04 PM

# Coronavirus

Six-month-old babies will be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine from next week

Children aged six months to 4 years old can avail of the vaccine from Monday.

16.4k

Feb 17th 2023, 6:00 AM

# debunked

FactFind: Does a new scientific review show masks are useless at stopping disease?

The conclusions of the review are surprising, but have been twisted by anti-mask campaigners online.

16.3k

Feb 10th 2023, 1:37 PM

# Public Transport

Bus passenger numbers on public transport network return to pre-pandemic levels

In November 2022, Bus Eireann carried 3.5 million passengers, surpassing comparable figures from 2019.

5.7k

Feb 7th 2023, 1:05 PM

January

January 2023

# pandemic

Three years on, WHO says Covid-19 is still a global emergency

The WHO first declared a so-called public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020.

11.1k

Jan 30th 2023, 1:41 PM

# WHO

WHO panel debates Covid's emergency status and whether pandemic merits highest level of alert

The outcome will be issued early next week.

15.0k

Jan 27th 2023, 6:17 PM

# factcheck

Debunked: London Police are not criminally investigating COVID-19 vaccines

Despite accusations of murder, terrorism, genocide, and torture, no credible evidence was given.

193

Jan 26th 2023, 1:51 PM

# respiratory illness

North Korea locks down capital over 'respiratory illness', report says

Residents of Pyongyang have been ordered to stay in their homes

15.9k

Jan 25th 2023, 9:47 AM

# Recovery Files

Cash for reforms: €700 billion EU recovery fund sparks concern and criticism

Analysis by Noteworthy and European journalists finds that Ireland is among several member states who repackaged old promises in reform plans.

13.4k

Jan 25th 2023, 6:05 AM

# flu season

Ireland has passed the peak of this year’s 'severe' flu season, according to the CMO

Flu cases have decreased by 48% in the past week.

14.3k

Jan 20th 2023, 5:22 PM

# jacinda ardern

From Christchurch attacks to Covid: Key moments from Jacinda Ardern's reign as New Zealand PM

‘Jacindamania’ has given way in recent months, with recent polls putting the centre-right coalition ahead.

9.5k

Jan 19th 2023, 11:04 AM

# stepping down

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces shock resignation

Ardern said she would step down no later than 7 February because she no longer had ‘enough in the tank’.

65.5k

Jan 19th 2023, 7:30 AM

# Transport

Used car prices jump by almost 70% - due to pandemic, Brexit and Ukraine - report says

In particular, used cars in the lower end of the market are becoming less affordable despite being lower in safety standards and higher in emissions.

14.6k

Jan 19th 2023, 6:00 AM

# Trolley crisis

HSE boss: Flu, RSV and Covid figures at levels above Govt's 'most pessimistic modelling' for winter

Planning for next winter to begin early when health system is ‘over the worst’, says Stephen Mulvaney.

Health bosses will appear before the Oireachtas Health Committee today.

Covid, RSV and influenza continue to place significant pressure on GPs and hospitals.

HSE interim CEO to tell TDs that health service staff "do not believe this is acceptable".

27.4k

Updated

Jan 17th 2023, 12:47 PM

# China

China reports almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths in a month

China has been widely accused of underreporting its number of coronavirus fatalities since the abandonment of its zero-Covid policy.

13.4k

Jan 14th 2023, 12:37 PM

# XBB.1.5

We need to talk about the 'Kraken' variant: What is it, and do we know what impact it could have?

XBB.1.5 is uniquely good at breaking the ‘door’ to the human body, but it’s not clear how much of a surge in cases it could cause.

30.1k

Jan 14th 2023, 9:00 AM

# factcheck

Debunked: Misleading graph used to argue that non-vaccinated people achieved ‘Zero Covid’

Unvaccinated people appear not to be affected by the disease — until you count deaths

577

Jan 12th 2023, 3:44 PM

# House Of Commons

Brexiteer MP Andrew Bridgen stripped of Tory whip for comparing vaccines to Holocaust

Fellow Tories as well as Holocaust remembrance groups have slammed Bridgen’s remarks on Covid-19 vaccines.

13.9k

Jan 11th 2023, 3:22 PM

# Vaccines

Over 70% of workforce have received Covid vaccine and at least one booster, latest data shows

61% of employees have a first booster and 13% of employees in the state had a second booster.

8.0k

Jan 10th 2023, 2:59 PM

# winter surge

Over 200 medicines unavailable in Ireland, including cough syrups and soluble painkillers

There is a major shortage of over-the-counter treatments for respiratory illnesses and bacterial infections.

28.5k

Jan 9th 2023, 9:38 AM

# China

China ends quarantine for overseas travellers

Beijing last month began a dramatic dismantling of a strategy that had enforced mandatory quarantines and lockdowns.

7.9k

Jan 8th 2023, 8:19 AM

# damar hamlin

Debunked: Claims that an NFL player collapsed due to a Covid-19 vaccine are completely unfounded

Multiple social media posts have incorrectly claimed that Hamlin’s collapse was caused by a Covid-19 vaccine.

12.4k

Jan 7th 2023, 6:30 AM

# winter surge

Immunologist says stronger advice on mask-wearing needed amid surge in respiratory viruses

Professor Christine Loscher told The Journal that the Government “missed a trick” in not issuing stronger advice sooner.

33.7k

Jan 7th 2023, 12:05 AM

# China

China slams 'unacceptable' Covid curbs on travellers from its territory

China’s steep rise in infections comes after Beijing abruptly lifted years of hardline restrictions last month.

30.0k

Updated

Jan 3rd 2023, 10:07 PM

# Emergency Departments

INMO calls for return of mandatory mask-wearing in crowded settings amid record trolley numbers

Over 931 patients are without beds in Irish hospitals today – the highest number since records began in 2006.

Covid-19 and influenza cases continue to increase rapidly, while notifications of RSV are also increasing

A consultant at University Hospital Limerick said "conditions in many instances are inhumane"

Services at several hospitals around the country are under extreme pressure

71.5k

108

Updated

Jan 3rd 2023, 1:45 PM