20,000 Respond to Government Call For Additional Healthcare Staff Over Covid-19

Health Minister Simon Harris yesterday confirmed that  20,000 people have contacted the HSE  following the governments request for additional health care professionals to help combat Covid-19 in Ireland. Speaking at a news conference earlier in the week Mr Harris had made a direct plea to Irish healthcare workers abroad, to those working part-time and to medical students, saying “we need you”. 

The call for more staff came as the government predicted this week that they expect a 30% increase in the number of cases each day in this country. Yesterday saw an additional 69 cases of the coronavirus confirmed in the Republic of Ireland, bringing to 292 the total number of confirmed cases.

Addressing the country on St. Partick\’s day Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that 15,000 virus cases were expected by the end of this month, but that most wouldn’t need treatment. He also warned of the threat to the economy and said there could be up to 100,000 jobs lost in the coming weeks. 

Simon Harris confirmed yesterday that that over 24,000 people had contacted the HSE in response to the call-out.