Ireland’s health service remains on high alert for a case of the new coronavirus after the first two people diagnosed with the disease in the UK were placed in isolation on Friday. With almost 10,000 cases confirmed, the outbreak is now bigger than the Sars outbreak of 2002-03, though the number of deaths as of Friday, at 213, is lower. The number of confirmed cases has risen more than ten-fold in a week, with almost 2,000 cases recorded in the past 24 hours. Where employers ask staff to remain at home even if they do not have symptoms, they should be paid, she said. This means that employers must consider whether their existing arrangements take account of the risk of harm arising from the coronavirus.”

Source: The Irish Times January 31, 2020 18:56 UTC