No more than 10 people should attend funerals of loved ones, Government advises

Mourners pictured outside the church as part of the social distancing for Covid-19 during the funeral mass for Jacqueline McGovern at Our Lady of Good Council Church in Killiney.Picture Credit:Frank McGrath 18/3/20

A man wearing a mask to protect against the spread of coronavirus walks past flower sellers on Grafton Street in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

Another 17 people have died of the coronavirus bringing the death toll to 71.

Another 325 people have tested positive for the virus.

It has pushed the number of people with the virus to 3,235.

Some 52 of the deceased are men and 19 are women.

54 had underlying illnesses.

This comes as the Government has said that immediate family members can still attend funeral services of loved ones, including those who may have died from Covid-19, as long as social distancing is applied.

No more than 10 people should attend in places of worship and at the graveside, but that this may be restricted further in smaller, enclosed spaces and individual churches may put in place special restrictions to respond to specific local circumstances.

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Department of the Taoiseach senior official Liz Canavan clarified the Government advice on attendance at funerals, burials and cremations on Tuesday at the daily briefing on the State's response to Covid-19.

Ms Canavan said that HSE guidance had already been issued and that further guidance is being developed by the health service and will be published shortly.

The senior official also advised that the 460,000 people in the country who are over 70, in receipt of a State pension, and are now being advised to cocoon themselves, may nominate an agent to collect their pension.

Bank of Ireland has also developed a new support service for the elderly and vulnerable who are cocooning which allows them to nominate another person to make cash withdrawals and lodgements in branch on their behalf.

Ms Canavan reminded the public that the health service continues to operate and anyone in need or urgent or emergency care, including if they have symptoms of a stroke or heart attack, should go to the Emergency Department or call an ambulance.

She also disclosed that nearly 26,000 employers have now registered for the Government’s temporary wage subsidy scheme and some €22.8m has been paid out by Revenue. Irish Water has decided to postpone introduction of a new tariff framework for business industry, agriculture, charities, and public bodies.

Speaking at Government Buildings, Ms Canavan said work is ongoing on the development of a new Covid-19 mobile app which will provide real-time symptom tracking and contact tracing.

Officials in the Department of Health, HSE and the Government’s chief information officer are testing the new app, but there is no timeline for when it may be made available to the public.

Ms Canavan also said that officials in the Department of Justice are attempting to source further Direct Provision beds in addition to to 300 beds recently announced in new centres in Tullamore, Rosslare Harbour and Cahirseveen to better support social distancing measures.

An off-site self-isolation facility is also being developed and can be opened up if required, she said.

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