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THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 14 additional deaths related to Covid-19 nationally Of the deaths reported today three occurred in April, one occurred in March, six occurred in February, and four occurred in January. The median age of those who died was 72.5 years and the age range was 55 to 90 years. There has been a total of 4,783 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Friday, April9, the HPSC has been notified of 455 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There has now been a total of 240,643* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 212 are men / 237 are women 77% are under 45 years of age The median age is 30 years old As of 8am today, 208 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 52 are in ICU. 11 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of April 7, 2021, 1,018,264 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have …

THE face of Ennis journalist and television presenter Colm Flynn is being used by scam artists to target victims on Facebook, it has emerged. Colm, who is currently based in Rome and working as the Vatican correspondent for a global news network, has warned people to beware of the scam which is being used to obtain people’s credit card details. While the fraudsters have used the name ‘Colm Fllyn’ for the Facebook page, they have used a number of photographs of the real Colm alongside many videos of his various television reports in order to make the page seem legitimate. Under the profile photograph the page states it belongs to the “broadcaster from Ireland based in Rome, Italy! I love people and their stories.” The page goes on to state that ‘Colm’ wants to share his joy with followers on Facebook by randomly choosing somebody to win €1,000. It then urges people to follow a separate link to enter a …

Gardaí have seized drugs worth in excess of €30,000 and arrested two men during a planned operation in Ennis. The operation yesterday was carried out as part of ongoing investigations targeting the sale and distribution of illegal drugs and associated criminal activity in the Clare Division. In the course of the operation a number of locations were searched including a house in Ennis where cocaine with an estimated value in excess of €30,000 (analysis pending) was seized by investigating Gardaí. Two men aged in their 30s were arrested and brought to Ennis Garda Station. Both men are currently detained under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996 and can be held for up to seven days. The investigation is ongoing.

Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune is calling for Clare’s position as a leading destination for tourism to be a focus as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, as part of a collective approach in ensuring our tourism and hospitality sectors continue to do well post-pandemic. MEPs at the European Parliament have called for a new EU strategy on tourism. They have highlighted how the COVID-19 outbreak has paralysed the EU’s tourism sector, with six out of 27 million jobs at risk. MEPs said that the tourism and travel sectors account for around 10% of the EU’s GDP. They are now urging EU countries to include these sectors in their recovery plans. MEP Clune has welcomed the announcement of the establishment of a €17m fund in Ireland which will allow businesses serving food to apply for funding to help pay for more outdoor seating. MEP Clune said: “Measures such as these are very welcome and will certainly help the tourism and hospitality sectors …

THE board of Cahercalla Community Hospital has said it fully accepts the findings of the HIQA report on an inspection carried out “at a time when Cahercalla was at its lowest ebb while dealing with a substantial Covid-19 outbreak which involved 25% of residents and resulted in 25% of staff being absent on Covid related leave.” The report, which was published on Friday, comes off the back of an unannounced inspection of the facility on January 20, 2021 during the Covid-19 outbreak. The report deemed Cahercalla to be ‘non-compliant’ in 12 different regulatory areas at the time. Responding to the publication of the report, Chairman of the Cahercalla Board, Dr Michael Harty said, “The board of Cahercalla fully accepts the finding of this HIQA report. The inspection was carried out at a time when Cahercalla was at its lowest ebb while dealing with a substantial Covid-19 outbreak which involved 25% of residents and resulted in 25% of staff being absent …

CONCERNS are emerging in the North Clare area and among tourism businesses about a perceived low level of consultation regarding the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040. There are concerns among local business people and elected representatives that the early direction of the future plan is seeking to prioritise national tourism, without taking much account of local tourism operators or the local community. It is understood that there have been rather sharp discussions between members of the executive of Clare County Council and elected representatives on the matter. While it goes without saying that the Cliffs of Moher is a huge factor in Clare tourism, there has been a feeling that the county has not benefited from it to anything like the extent it should in recent years, with many of the visitors coming on bus tours and only spending a very short time in this county. Some concerned parties this week also told the Clare Champion that the early direction …

ENNIS’ Temporary Covid-19 Town Centre Mobility Plan, resulting in parts of the town closed to traffic, has been described as “very conservative” with calls being made for restrictions to be lessened. The Ennis Municipal District have confirmed that a review of the plan is scheduled to take place after the current lock-down measures are eased. Speaking at the monthly meeting of the local authority, Councillor Pat Daly urged that the council and the mobility stakeholder group keep the traffic situation under constant review with a view to re-opening selected streets if the county’s Covid numbers continue to improve. He said that many business owners are “tired and upset” over the ongoing street closures. “The pandemic has caused severe damage to their livelihoods” he said, expressing the hope that there may be “light at the end of the tunnel” in the near future. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy voiced her support to the motion, saying the pandemic has been “very, very hard …

THE Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe Municipal District has called for more financial incentives to prevent vacant properties from become derelict and dangerous. Councillor Pat Hayes’s comments following the closure of a section of the footpath on Main Street in Tulla after a dangerous structure notice was issued on an empty building. “The situation typifies a problem I have been raising for a considerable period of time,” he said. “The new rural development strategy encourages the redevelopment of buildings in towns and villages and it is not in anyone’s interest to have a situation like we have in Tulla at the moment. Traffic problems are being created, as well a negative image of the place. I would encourage the owner of the property to engage with the council and for all of the owners of vacant buildings to do the same.” The Fianna Fáil member said that existing schemes to support owners to redevelop vacant properties are not working. “Under the …