Coronavirus

Breda Smyth’s time as country’s top doctor focused on State’s preparedness for new pandemic while she had just one of four deputies to help

Government indicates its intention to provide a factual account of pandemic and identify lessons learned from it

Up to 60,000 may have received PUP while in employment, Public Accounts Committee told

Some symptoms demand you seek urgent medical care

Exact prevalence of Covid not known as only limited testing carried out but flu levels remain well below those recorded this time last year

Dr Muiris Houston: There is a definite link between Covid infection and a range of heart diseases, even for those who had a relatively mild infection and made a good recovery

Dr Gerard Waters said a public Medical Council inquiry could lead to ‘unwarranted' damage to his reputation

New variant, Eris, spreading faster than others but no evidence of it causing more severe infection

Two new strains of the Omicron variant are prompting concerns for illness severity and vaccine efficacy

Galway and Kilkenny hospitals urge public to consider staying away as disease trends upward since June

Two people appear to dance past sign saying ‘Please keep your distance’ during event at Tory HQ in 2020

Former UK prime minister claims committee was ‘determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament’

British cabinet office bringing forward judicial review of request for all of former PM’s correspondence and notebooks relating to pandemic

German sought ruling for Austrian government to be liable for harm to him after he contracted virus in March 2020

Donnelly pays tribute to health staff and the public as announcement ‘marks symbolic end to the pandemic’

INMO raises concern over lifting of mandatory mask-wearing as briefing documents set out ‘ongoing threats’ to health system

About €208m paid to 142,000 staff but small number still to receive payment, says Minister

Microbes do not respect borders but nation-state politics have always complicated the World Health Organisation’s mission for global co-operation in the fight against disease

Q&A: If there are errors in your Central Credit Register record of loan repayments, there are steps you can take

Coronavirus findings not definitive and all theories, including lab leak, remain on table, health body says

The HSE has announced walk-in vaccination clinics at 34 locations over the bank holiday weekend

A robust debate is under way about the long-term negative effect of school and childcare restrictions

Nearly 60,000 die in hospitals, true figure likely much higher, as doctors discouraged from citing Covid as cause of deaths

Chinese government says ‘deaths related to Covid’ occurred in hospitals, leaving open possibility more people might have died at home

Latest virus outbreak overwhelming some hospitals, crematoriums in rural areas with less medical resources

Several other countries, including Poland and Bulgaria, say they have no plans to impose testing rules

Western health officials say checks have mostly been introduced to avert potential variants spreading

Patients are being left in corridors with oxygen and wheelchairs as Covid surges in China’s capital

International health experts predict at least one million deaths in China from virus this year

Crowds watched by large numbers of police, SWAT, plain-clothed personnel and other security

European Commission says it will remain vigilant and ‘use the emergency brake if necessary’

Cork University Hospital tops trolley waiting list on Friday, with pressure on Emergency Departments across Ireland

Shanghai hospital tells staff to prepare for ‘tragic battle’ with Covid amid unreliable official statistics

Anticipated resurgence of coronavirus placing extra strain on health service struggling with record RSV wave and invasive cases of strep A

Government for first time allows some positive cases to home quarantine after trade contracts sharply

Some relatives ‘remain traumatised’ after watching a loved one die through a nursing home window, Hiqa report says

Sun Chunlan says Omicron variant is less pathogenic and that country is entering ‘new stage and mission’

Biggest wave of civil disobedience sweeps country since Xi Jinping took power a decade ago

As many staff as possible will be paid before Christmas, Donnelly tells Oireachtas committee

Demonstrations in cities including Shanghai follow fire in capital of Xinjiang region that killed 10 people