Speaking at Government Buildings Mr Varadkar said when the peak of Covid-19 cases is reached and the number of new cases starts falling consistently then some of the restrictions can be eased. He described a deal struck with the Private Hospitals Association as a “public-private partnership” for a period of three months and can be extended beyond this on a mutually-agreed basis. “Under the agreements, the HSE will secure 100pc of the capacity of private hospitals, the private hospitals would operate as public hospitals for the duration, treating both Covid-19, and other patients, and all patients treated in private hospitals under this arrangement would be public patients,” he said. The acquisition of the use of 19 private hospitals amounts to roughly 17pc of the capacity of the public health service. The Private Hospitals Association welcomed the deal.

Source: Irish Independent March 30, 2020 17:03 UTC