The Health Minister, Simon Harris has announced new measures aimed at tackling the spread of coronavirus in the country's nursing homes.
40 clusters have so far been identified in nursing homes across the country.
Among the new measures, staff screening will start in nursing homes twice a day, COVID-19 testing will be prioritised for staff and the HSE will provide access to PPE, expert advice and training.
Each nursing home will also be identifying a COVID-19 lead.
Staff movement across residential facilities will be minimised and the HSE will support staff with alternative accommodation and transport, if required.
In addition to these measures, a temporary COVID-19 Financial Support Scheme is being introduced by Government and will be established in the coming days, to support the critical services provided by nursing homes.
The Scheme will provide a temporary assistance payment to support private and voluntary nursing homes in managing any outbreak that occurs. It is envisaged that the scheme will operate for a 3 month period, which is to be reviewed after the first month’s operation.
