Coronavirus: Ireland is at a ‘delicate and critical point’

There had been a "very high level of compliance" with restrictions on non-essential travel over the bank holiday weekend, Liz Canavan, Department of Taoiseach assistant general secretary has said.

A major policing operation was put in place over the weekend with checkpoints across the country to ensure people complied with public health guidelines, over fears people would travel to holiday homes due to the fine weather.

Speaking at a briefing in Government Buildings on Tuesday, Ms Canavan said there had been a “very high level of compliance” with the restrictions, and called for people to continue to adhere to the measures over the coming weeks.

The country was at a “delicate and critical point” in its response to the coronavirus outbreak, the senior official said.

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There are now 10,647 known coronavirus cases in the State, and 365 people have died from Covid-19. Health officials announced a further 527 confirmed cases on Monday, along with 465 further positive cases from tests sent to a German laboratory to clear a testing backlog.

There was "absolutely no truth" in rumours linking the coronavirus to 5G internet, and this had been confirmed by the European Commission and the WHO, Ms Canavan said.

This followed a suspected arson attack on two large telecommunications masts in Co Donegal on Sunday night. Conspiracy theorists have linked new 5G technology to the cause of the global pandemic.

The vandalism of mobile phone masts would stop the telecoms infrastructure from carrying mobile phone calls or data “at a time when people are relying on those critical services,” Ms Canavan said.

“Some people will be unable to contact emergency services and the gardaí,” and damaging the masts would make it harder for people to contact relatives and friends, she said.

Addressing the conspiracy theories the senior civil servant called on the public “to ignore misinformation circulating on social media and not to spread it further”.

More than 1,700 people who applied for the €350 weekly Covid-19 unemployment benefit were incorrectly sent emails stating they had been refused the payment, Ms Canavan said.

All of those incorrectly denied the benefit have been contacted by Department of Social Welfare officials and told of the error, she said.

There are 532,000 people registered for the weekly payment, which was introduced in the wake of huge job losses.

There was a “small number of people” who had applied for the payment but had given incorrect PPS numbers or banking details, who officials were in the process of contacting, Ms Canavan said.

The take up of a temporary wage subsidy scheme for businesses was “continuing to grow,” and in total €199 million has been paid out under the scheme to date, she said.

Tusla, the child and family agency, has sought to assure the public it continues to respond to reports of concern about children at risk of neglect or harm, Ms Canavan said.

The State agency has seen a drop in the number of referrals of at-risk children during the effective national lockdown. The closure of schools, which normally account for a quarter of welfare and abuse referrals, was a “factor” in the drop, she said.