Some of Ireland’s ‘darkest days’ ahead as death toll reaches 334

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said 'we need to maintain our discipline and resolve in the knowledge that better days are to come'.

Another 14 people have died in Ireland bringing the death toll to 334, the National Public Health Emergency team has announced.

A further 430 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday and there are now 9,655 confirmed cases of the virus in the Republic.

Of the 14 deaths, 10 had underlying health conditions and had a median age of 80. A total of 12 were in the East and two in the West.

It comes after the Irish Government extended its lockdown for another three weeks until May 5. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he had acted on experts’ advice, adding that ‘nobody knows’ when life will go back to normal.

Your actions are making a difference. The spread of the virus is slowing. It’s more important than ever that we persevere. Taking what we have learned we will build a better society at the end of this — a great society for a great people. Happy Easter. pic.twitter.com/elLd4XKc9O

— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) April 12, 2020

For all the latest news and updates on Coronavirus, click here.

For our Coronavirus live blog click here.

On Sunday, Mr Varadkar said Ireland will face some of its darkest days in the weeks ahead, as it battles to contain the spread of coronavirus.

In a video message posted on Twitter, Mr Varadkar said that the country is preparing to reach the pandemic’s peak later this month.

‘The number of hospitalisations and sadly the number of deaths continues to rise,’ he said.

‘So we cannot lose focus. We cannot lessen our efforts. In fact, we need to redouble them for the next few weeks.

‘It’s more important than ever that we persevere. It’s possible that we haven’t seen the peak yet.

‘When it comes, perhaps later this month, we will experience some of our darkest days. So we need to maintain our discipline and resolve in the knowledge that better days are to come.’

Wishing the public a happy Easter, he added: ‘This is a special time of the year when we recall some of the major turning points etched into our national story – the Easter Rising, becoming a Republic, the Good Friday Agreement.

‘For many of us, Easter is a special moment in the Christian calendar, marking the resurrection, the Good News and what it means for the world.

‘This Easter we reach another crucial point in our history – our fight against Covid-19. Thank you for heeding the advice of our experts, for interrupting the spread of the virus, sheltering the most vulnerable, protecting our health service and ensuring the staff who work in it have not been overwhelmed so far.

‘Your action are making a difference. The spread of the virus is slowing.

‘So today – whether we have faith or not – let us remember the Easter message, a message of suffering and sacrifice followed by rebirth and renewal, and above all a message of hope as winter turns to spring.

‘When this emergency ends, we will mourn the dead, comfort the bereaved, and be together again.

‘We will re-awaken the sleeping giant that is our economy, our people will go back to work and our businesses will reopen, and taking what we’ve learned, we will build a better society at the end of this – a great society for a great people.’

On Saturday, Minister for Health Simon Harris said he hoped the backlog in testing would be cleared by the end of next week.

He said between 25,000 and 30,000 tests had been sent to Germany, with more than half of the tests returned and the remainder due back this week.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.