THE DÁIL HAS passed emergency Covid-19 legislation that deals with issues such as a nationwide rent freeze and a ban on evictions.

The National Public Health Emergency Team also met to discuss the potential impact of the virus after a new report suggested that Ireland’s intensive care beds could be overwhelmed by the coronavirus.

The Department of Health tonight confirmed that 10 more people had died from the virus, bringing the death toll in the Republic of Ireland to 19.

A further 255 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, bringing the total number of cases here to 1,819.

There is good news, however: more than 100 doctors have re-joined the Medical Register to tackle the pandemic, and Medical Council has launched a new website page for doctors.

On the international front, the US has passed a $2.2 trillion rescue package aimed at curbing the crisis there.

Here are today’s main Covid-19 points:

'A mark of thanks and respect': TDs in the Dáil took part in a national round of applause for healthcare workers who are responding to the coronavirus pandemic: https://t.co/kJOR6UfJDO pic.twitter.com/HhGSkTsJNy — TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) March 26, 2020 Source: TheJournal.ie /Twitter

Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has released a report that warns that there was a high risk that healthcare systems EU will be overwhelmed as a result of the new coronavirus outbreak.

A key part of keeping a population’s death rate from Covid-19 down is the number of beds it has in intensive care units (ICU). As Ireland has 5.6 ICU beds per 100,000 of the population, just half of the EU average, it’s thought to be at particular risk of being overwhelmed.

In a crucial paragraph in its report, the ECDC says: “Hospital preparedness is an absolute and immediate priority when countries/regions find themselves in scenario 3 or 4.”

(Ireland is in scenario 3, which features “localised outbreaks”, “human-to-human transmission” and “an increasing pressure on healthcare systems”.)

In healthcare settings, surge capacity plans must be up-to-date and launched in expectation of the high demand for care of patients with moderate or severe respiratory distress. Emergency wards and intensive care wards are likely to exceed capacity very rapidly if service delivery is not reorganised.

In international coronavirus news:

Spain’s Covid-19 death toll has increased by 655 in one day to over 4,000, while the worldwide number of confirmed cases of the virus surpassed 500,000.

US senators have passed a $2.2 trillion rescue package, the biggest in modern US history, for businesses and ordinary Americans affected by the coronavirus.

Russia will halt all international flights from midnight under a government decree listing new measures against the pandemic.

The European Council and G20 had virtual meetings about Covid-19, with the G20 saying it is “committed to do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic“.

The UK’s House of Commons has shut down early for its Easter break as a result of the outbreak.

The first ever Health for All Film Festival organised by the WHO has attracted nearly 1,300 short film submissions – both amateur and professional – from more than 110 countries.

- with reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha and Órla Ryan