THE Government has announced the introduction of mandatory quarantine for passengers who arrive in Ireland without a negative PCR test, in what one Cork travel agent described as a “positive move”.

One of Cork’s biggest bars is hoping to reopen for outdoor dining in March following optimistic sentiments from Tánaiste Leo Varadkar regarding Q2.

Level five restrictions are to continue until March 5, it has been confirmed with the aim of ‘crushing the numbers’. Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed the extension of the lockdown in a briefing held this afternoon.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 90 additional deaths related to Covid-19. 89 deaths occurred in January. There is one death where the date of death is under investigation.

SIXTY-SIX cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed among staff at a meat plant in Bandon. The ABP plant in Kilbrogan is now running at a reduced capacity. There are approximately 300 staff employed at the plant.

The UK variant of Covid-19 cannot be behaving differently in Northern Ireland from the Republic, Stormont's deputy First Minister said.

Level Five lockdown measures will continue until at least early March, under proposals to go before Cabinet on Tuesday.

The Department of Health has confirmed that 1,372 new cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in Ireland as of midnight last night.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said that community vaccination of people aged 70 and over will begin next month.

MEN travelling from Cork, Waterford and Limerick for a sulky race were stopped by Portlaoise gardaí yesterday. The men were stopped on the N77 Portlaoise to Abbeyleix Road. Gardaí said two of the group were arrested for road traffic offences.

Over the weekend, Kinsale Gardaí issued seven fines to a group of men for breaching Covid regulations. Gardaí witness the seven men arrive into Kinsale in two taxis. They then went into a shop and purchased a large amount of alcohol.

TEXT messages and calls about the Covid vaccination are scams, according to gardaí, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health. The three agencies have come together to advise the public to ignore such communication.

A DRIVER who was turned back from two east Cork beaches within a short period of time was hit with a €100 fine over the weekend. The man had travelled more than 20km before being met at a Covid checkpoint near Garryvoe beach car park.

The HSE has confirmed that the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine has been offered to residents and staff at more than 90 nursing homes and community hospitals, with more than 10,000 vaccine doses administered across Cork and Kerry.

The number of people in intensive care units will "hold if not grow" in the coming days, the health service chief has said. Paul Reid said ICU admissions are a "real challenge" with delayed discharges from units and an increased number of deaths.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 23 additional deaths related to COVID-19. All 23 of these deaths occurred in January. The median age of those who died is 84 years and the age range is 61-99 years.

Ireland's health service is "battling" to hold the levels of care that it values due to the high levels of Covid-19 in the community, its chief executive has said.

Cork Traveller Rights Groups have called for “support and respect” following a “significant outbreak of Covid-19” at a number of Cork Traveller sites.

A decision on school reopening will be made Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting, a spokesperson for An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

MEMBERS of the Traveller community in Cork have been offered emergency accommodation to self-isolate following an outbreak of Covid-19 at an overcrowded halting site on the northside of the city.

A mural that was commissioned on the Douglas Road to honour the work of staff in St Finbarr’s Hospital was covered with graffiti in recent days.

Mandatory quarantine should be introduced for people coming into Ireland, the deputy chief medical officer said.

IF THE January transfer window seems quieter than even its usually sedate manner, then you are not wrong.

Recruiter site IrishJobs. ie showed Cork saw a 4% quarterly growth in job vacancies from quarter three, 2020 versus quarter four, but vacancies in Cork were down 8% year-on-year.

CALLS for the Government to double the CRSS (Covid Restrictions Support Scheme) payments have been made by Cork city chairperson of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) Michael O’Donovan, who said that the current payment was “woefully ...

IRELAND'S hospitality sector, including pubs and restaurants, could remain closed until May as the Government ponders keeping Level 5 restrictions in place until late February, it has emerged.

A CHURCH of Ireland dean said he would be willing to allow St Fin Barre's Cathedral to be repurposed as a temporary vaccination centre in the fight against Covid-19. Very Reverend Nigel Dunne, who has been the dean of Cork and Rector of St.

About 1. 9% of Ireland's population has been given the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the health minister.

Ireland’s student nurses and midwives have reiterated calls for fair pay, as a report on their situation comes before cabinet today.

A patient of the Covid ward in Cork University Hospital (CUH) has urged the public to increase their vigilance after she found it so difficult to breathe that she thought she was going to suffocate.

SECONDARY schools in Cork have reported a “successful” and “positive” experience with online learning as they head into the second week of at-home tuition of 2021 for students.

Soldiers are being deployed to assist staff at nursing homes in two locations in Cork, while additional HSE staff have also been deployed to a private nursing home in Cork.

A CALL from a distressed youth who was left without any human contact for 14 days due to Covid-19 has prompted serious concern from Childline.

The situation in hospitals across the country has been described as "stark" by CMO Tony Holohan. It comes as 13 new deaths were notified today, all of which took place in January.

Ireland's health service is potentially facing the most challenging week in its history, a minister for state has said.

A Cork-based healthcare worker has called on the Government to fast track non-EU doctors’ citizenship applications.

Doctors and other healthcare workers have expressed relief after receiving Covid-19 jabs at three mass vaccination centres in Ireland. The facilities opened in Dublin, Galway and Portlaoise on Saturday and will operate over the weekend.

GARDAÍ have issued an appeal to the public to remain at home this weekend. The plea follows a similiar appeal from HSE management in the Cork region yesterday.

The head of the EU medicines regulator has said that she is "hopeful" that the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will be given European approval at the end of the month.

THE Dean of Public Health at University College Cork, Ivan Perry, has said that he believes the Government made a mistake by reopening the country ahead of schedule prior to the festive season.

A well-known advocate of the elderly in Cork has expressed concern over the 13,500 people over the age of 70 across the city and the county who are living alone during the current lockdown.

SIGNIFICANT levels of Covid-19 mortality lie ahead for Ireland, the deputy chief medical officer warned. A 25-year-old was among those who have died this month, while the oldest was aged 98.

HSE management in the Cork region are appealing to the public to continue to stay home in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 and ease pressure on the entire health system.

New figures show Gardaí issued 29 Fixed Payment Notices (FPNs) to people so far this week for breaches of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

A CORK medical expert has warned that the only way to prevent the health system from coming to its knees is for people to “stay indoors and stick to themselves”.

A Cork-based infectious disease expert has said that surging Covid cases in the county seen over the last two weeks “make sense epidemiologically” with the UK variant being a “minor contributor so far”.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 63 additional deaths related to COVID-19. Five of these deaths occurred in November 2020, 1 of these deaths occurred in December 2020, and the remaining 56 occurred in January 2021.

Health workers who were close contacts of coronavirus cases are being called back to work before they finish isolating for 14 days, it has emerged.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 46 additional deaths related to COVID-19.  Two of these deaths occurred in December 2020, and the remaining 44 occurred in January 2021.

Management at Bantry General Hospital (BGH) have moved to reassure the public that "patient and staff care is the main priority" following comments which came to light about admissions to intensive care unit (ICU) in the region.