# pandemic

Last week

17th September 2023 - 23rd September 2023

# Covid-19

Micheál Martin hints he might write a book to put 'his perspective' of pandemic on the record

Former chief medical officer Tony Holohan’s memoir was published this week.

10.7k

Tue 7:38 PM

# pandemic

'I was very angry at the time': Leo Varadkar responds to claims in Tony Holohan's book

Dr Holohan references remarks made by the Taoiseach which he says upset his wife at the time.

60.0k

155

Updated

Mon 7:35 PM

Last month

August 2023

# Covid-19

'Huge increase' in antigen tests sold as Covid-19 cases rise again

There has been a steady increase in cases of Covid-19 in recent weeks.

30.2k

151

Aug 22nd 2023, 5:48 PM

# Covid-19

Covid-19: Symptoms and guidelines for the new Eris variant

Chief Medical Officer Prof Breda Smyth said that new sub-variants are “not unexpected”.

36.7k

Aug 21st 2023, 12:06 PM

# Eris variant

HSE won't resume Covid vaccination programme despite 'more transmissible' new variant

The vaccine booster will not be available until the end of next month, and only for at-risk groups.

40.1k

200

Updated

Aug 11th 2023, 11:11 AM

This year

2023

# Concern

Arts Council research shows 'worrying level of decline' in young people attending cultural events

A German policy to give each young person a €200 pass for cultural events is being examined by the Arts Council.

14.3k

Jul 23rd 2023, 3:00 PM

# CORU

HSE physiotherapist who called face masks 'satanic symbols' accused of professional misconduct

Anna Marie Stack Rivas appeared before a fitness-to-practise inquiry of CORU.

21.5k

Jul 17th 2023, 5:12 PM

# pandemic

UK former health secretary Matt Hancock ‘profoundly sorry’ for deaths caused by Covid-19

Hancock was central to the UK’s government’s decision-making and messaging during the pandemic.

14.4k

Updated

Jun 27th 2023, 12:25 PM

# pandemic

Tory MP apologises for attending ‘birthday drinks’ during Covid

Crosbie is a former parliamentary private secretary to ex-UK health secretary Matt Hancock.

14.4k

Jun 26th 2023, 11:00 PM

# pandemic

Inquiry into Ireland's Covid-19 response to be set up this year, Varadkar says

The Taoiseach said he wanted to see the right terms of reference so the Irish inquiry does not stray like the UK one is doing.

7.2k

Jun 9th 2023, 4:39 PM

# Cancer

2021 was second year in a row with fewer cancer diagnoses due to Covid, report finds

1 in 12 expected cancers were not detected over the first 2 years of the pandemic, an estimated 4,320 cases.

5.5k

Jun 7th 2023, 6:30 AM

# cancer treatment

Access to cancer treatment has returned to pre-Covid levels, report finds

The government allocated €35 million in extra funding last year and recruited 172 additional staff to cancer services.

5.2k

Jun 6th 2023, 6:00 AM

# factcheck

Debunked: Confusion over news article helps spread baseless claims about Pandemic Treaty

A letter sent by Conservative MPs has been used to allege a treaty will cede sovereignty to the WHO.

6.5k

Jun 2nd 2023, 2:26 PM

# UK

Boris Johnson hands WhatsApps and notebooks to UK Cabinet Office amid Covid inquiry row

Downing Street has already been forced to deny allegations of a “cover-up” amid criticism over the public row with the inquiry.

5.8k

May 31st 2023, 8:10 PM

# pandemic

Two-thirds of all Covid deaths occurred in care homes, study finds

Ireland had the second highest proportion globally of Covid-19 deaths from Long Term Residential Care homes.

8.0k

May 30th 2023, 12:53 PM

# pandemic

Boris Johnson reported to police over new ‘potential lockdown breaches’

The Metropolitan Police said it was ‘currently assessing’ details it had received relating to incidents between June 2020 and May 2021.

10.7k

May 23rd 2023, 8:01 PM

# WHO

WHO declares an end to Covid-19 global health emergency

The coronavirus outbreak killed at least seven million people worldwide – and health chiefs stressed that the pandemic is not over.

The World Health Organisation has said Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency.

The announcement marks a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns.

The WHO said that even though the emergency phase is over, the pandemic has not come to an end.

41.2k

181

Updated

May 5th 2023, 7:04 PM

# pandemic

Covid vaccine requirement for international travelers entering US to end 11 May

The decision comes as Covid-19 deaths in the US have declined by 95% since January 2021, the White House said.

10.8k

May 2nd 2023, 9:51 AM

# Covid-19

Tony Holohan says media and others tried to 'oversimplify' pandemic response

Holohan said there was no “silver bullet” that could have stopped the pandemic.

25.5k

Apr 28th 2023, 6:40 PM

# Infection Control

Mater Hospital nurse up for global award on leading change in infection control after pandemic

Jincy Jerry, a nursing manager who has an autistic son, says she experiences the health service from both sides.

31.5k

Apr 21st 2023, 9:42 PM

# pandemic

Rollout of pandemic bonus has had errors but is largely complete, says Donnelly

A total of €208 million in tax-free pandemic bonus payments has been issued, the health minister said.

8.3k

Apr 19th 2023, 1:23 PM

# Coronavirus

Covid-19 testing centres to close nationally, as testing no longer needed for 'vast majority'

Both PCR and antigen testing will continue to be used by doctors in hospitals and general practices

19.4k

Mar 27th 2023, 8:13 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.

8.6k

Mar 12th 2023, 7:30 AM

# 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.

12.6k

Mar 10th 2023, 6:00 AM

# 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.

14.5k

Mar 7th 2023, 3:45 PM

# 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.

13.0k

Mar 1st 2023, 8:26 PM

# 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’.

25.1k

Feb 27th 2023, 3:07 PM

# 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.

11.2k

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

# 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.

15.0k

Jan 19th 2023, 6:00 AM

# 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

# pandemic

Covid-19 inquiry 'should not be about pointing fingers' – Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar said he hopes to have an inquiry into the handling of the pandemic up and running this year.

23.6k

Jan 2nd 2023, 8:01 AM

Last year

2022

# pandemic preparedness

Plans on how to respond to possible future pandemic are being worked on, CMO says

Professor Breda Smyth became CMO in October after Dr Tony Holohan stepped aside.

7.5k

Dec 30th 2022, 12:41 PM

# lockdown over

WHO concerned over China Covid cases but country claims no new deaths

Beijing last week admitted the scale of the outbreak has become ‘impossible’ to track

8.1k

Dec 21st 2022, 5:44 PM

# pandemic

China expands lockdowns as Covid-19 cases hit daily record

Officials in the government of Zhengzhou have declared a ‘war of annihilation’ against the virus.

16.8k

Nov 24th 2022, 9:35 AM

# G20

G20 ministers launch billion-dollar pandemic fund

The fund is viewed as one of the early global outcomes of the G20 summit next week.

7.0k

Nov 13th 2022, 9:43 AM

# ESRI

Young people argued with parents and siblings more during first year of the Covid pandemic

The ESRI findings are based on an online survey that was carried out in December 2020.

9.8k

Nov 3rd 2022, 5:23 PM

# pandemic

World Health Organisation warns Covid is still an international emergency

The WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, agreed, warning that there were still millions of cases being reported each week

11.9k

Oct 19th 2022, 7:24 PM

# mike ryan

Irish head of emergencies at WHO reveals he received death threats during pandemic

The Sligo-born doctor said that he may have post-traumatic stress disorder.

15.7k

Sep 21st 2022, 11:42 AM

Voices

Opinion: The world wants us to go back to normal after the pandemic. Maybe we need to rest instead

Artist Áine O’Hara has created the Rest Rooms, where rest is a form of resistance – here, she explains the background to the installation.

25.4k

Sep 7th 2022, 7:00 PM