The news came after figures released on Monday showed there were 22 clusters of coronavirus infections in nursing homes as of Friday, a sharp increase on the four clusters that had been recorded just five days earlier. All but two of the outbreaks have occurred in nursing homes in the east of the country. Minister for Health Simon Harris met for over an hour on Monday with representatives of Nursing Homes Ireland, the body that acts for the operators of private and voluntary nursing homes. Chief executive of Nursing Homes Ireland Tadhg Daly said the operators he represents were “on the front line” in the State’s response to Covid-19. He said he told Mr Harris the sector needed timely access to personal protection equipment, and testing for the virus within nursing homes.

Source: The Irish Times March 30, 2020 19:07 UTC