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THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of two additional cases of Covid-19 in Clare and four additional deaths related to Covid-19 nationally. There has been a total of 4,903 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Thursday, April 29, the HPSC has been notified of 545 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 248,870* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 294 are men / 244 are women 77% are under 45 years of age The median age is 29 years old 264 in Dublin, 58 in Kildare, 50 in Cork, 29 in Donegal, 28 in Galway and the remaining 116 cases are spread across 21 other counties**. As of 8am today, 139 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 44 are in ICU. 8 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of April 28, 2021, 1,487,043 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland: 1,067,378 people have …

THE SEANAD has heard claims of potential health and safety concerns at an East Clare school, if it loses a teacher and has to reduce the number of classroom available to its pupils. The plight of Clooney National School, where pupil numbers are at 73, six short of the 79 needed to retain four teachers, was raised by Senator Timmy Dooley. The Fianna Fáil member made an appeal on behalf of the school on the basis that removing a teacher would mean 73 children would have to be taught in three classrooms instead of four, making the application of pandemic health guidelines more difficult. Senator Dooley added that small schools deserved greater protections in order to support the rejuvenation of rural Ireland. “At a time when we are trying to keep children apart we are cramming them into three rooms as opposed to four, which does not make sense,” Senator Dooley told Minister of State Josepha Madigan, who addressed the …

SHANNON native Aisling O’Loughlin, who once presented TV show Xposé, has been putting videos and messages on social media, campaigning against taking the Covid-19 vaccines. In one recent video posted on Instagram, Ms O’Loughlin launched into a diatribe against authorities and the media. She said, “The game is up, we can see right through the lies and corruption, it is in plain sight if you care to see it. It is there. “We can see so clearly now that the mainstream media has been bought to propagate this lie. “We can see that the politicians have been bought to push an agenda that is not in our interests. “We can see that our doctors that we used to trust are in the pockets of big pharma. They are pushing an experimental injection on us and we don’t trust it.” In a separate video, she further criticised the mainstream media for, as she put it, pushing the Covid-19 agenda. “Big question, …

EFFORTS by patrons to ensure a place at second level is made available to all pupils in Ennis and feeder communities have been commended. Deputy Joe Carey praised the “proactive action” of the patrons of Ennis post-primary schools in helping to alleviate parents and children’s stress about the issue. A statement issued by George O’Callaghan, CEO Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, (LCETB) has said that a virtual meeting of the schools concerned took place recently. The statement was issued on behalf of the school patrons. “The meeting was to review progress on the issue of pupils without school places for the forthcoming academic year at post-primary in Ennis and establish a unified process to address the problem for the school year 2022/2023 and in forthcoming years,” the statement read. Deputy Carey said that this approach will help to alleviate what has been an ongoing issue for several years in Ennis. “In planning ahead on this and seeking to …

AHEAD of the May Bank Holiday Weekend, Clare County Council is urging the people of Clare to maintain their efforts to suppress Covid-19. “The sacrifices that people have made, combined with the rollout of the vaccination programme, are having an impact, but we all need to continue doing the things that protect us from Covid-19. This will help to reduce the chance of outbreaks in healthcare settings, workplaces, our homes, and schools,” said Pat Dowling, Chief Executive of Clare County Council. “We have cause for cautious optimism as we look to the future. This is a reflection on the truly commendable commitment that the people of Clare have shown. I understand that many people feel fatigued. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has advised that adherence with public health advice, combined with the vaccination programme, is key to exiting this pandemic in the coming months. That prospect gives us huge motivation to move forward. “As we look ahead to …

SUMMERHILL locals are “beginning to lose their patience” with traffic detours introduced as part of Ennis’ temporary Covid-19 mobility plan. Calls have now been made for planned road improvements at Summerhill to be expedited due to the “inconvenience” residents have endured. A meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard the job is part of this year’s road works programme, and is dependent on completion dates of improvements to a section of the Parnell Street Public Realm and the Temporary Covid-19 Ennis Town Centre Mobility Management Plan. Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Paul Murphy raised the issue welcoming the inclusion of Summerhill in the roadworks programme and urging that they take place “in as timely a manner as possible”. Seconding the motion, Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy stated, “We are all in agreement that these works should be prioritised. These people have been very patient.” Summerhill residents have “put up enough with traffic going up and down,” said Councillor Pat Daly: “I realise …

After a near five month hiatus, the fairways of Clare’s ten golf courses are busy once more this week as the latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions allowed for the game to return at a non competitive level. Whether it will be the fairways or the rough that sees the most action while the rust is being cleared is another matter, but there has been a positive reaction from the members of the clubs across the county and beyond to being allowed back out onto the courses. Guidelines set down mean that only players from a maximum of two households may tee off together, while a strict member only policy has also been implemented in a bid to keep numbers controlled. Some clubs have opted to limit their 18-hole courses to just nine holes at certain times in order to allow as many members as possible to get on the timesheet, while 8-10 minute intervals have been adopted between tee times. …

MYSTERY surrounds the disappearance of the Fairy Doors that had been attached to trees on the River Walk, on the forest stretch between Illaunmanagh and Cluain Airne, reports Owen Ryan. The disappearance of the doors has disappointed those involved in making the doors, as well as the local children who enjoyed the installations. “We put them up there two years ago, the Men’s Shed made them, they were painted at the creches and the Tidy Towns put them up, said Derek Clune, of Shannon Men’s Shed and Tidy Towns. “We had to put them up fairly high, because if we put them too low we felt they could be vandalised. We had a ladder and I’d say they were eight feet off the ground and they were screwed in,” he added. He has no doubt that it is not a simple case of vandalism, because removing the Fairy Doors isn’t that simple. “It seems to me that whoever took them …