Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has rejoined the medical register to offer his services in the fight against coronavirus.
A spokesman told the PA news agency: “Dr Varadkar rejoined the medical register last month.
“He has offered his services to the HSE for one session a week in areas that are within his scope of practice.
“Many of his family and friends are working in the health service. He wanted to help out even in a small way.”
Another 21 patients in Ireland who were diagnosed with Covid-19 have died, according to the health authorities, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 158.
The most recent deaths were that of nine female and 12 males.
Twelve of the patients were reported to have had underlying health conditions.
The latest deaths mean that 200 people on the island have died from coronavirus so far. Seven more people who had tested positive for coronavirus have died in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to 63.
The number of new cases in the Republic was confirmed at 390 taking the number in total diagnosed since the pandemic began to 4,994.
The number of patients in intensive care units being treated stood at 165 on Friday, up from 158 on Thursday. A total of 1,203 cases (27 per cent) have needed hospital treatment to date.
Some 26 per cent of those infected were healthcare workers (1,163 cases).
HSE chief executive Paul Reid opened today’s daily briefing in Dublin by thanking members of the public for following the social distancing measures, saying lives has been saved.
“It is too early to be complacent and I do urge everyone to stick with it,” he said.
He said testing has been a “very significant challenge”, but revealed that due to work on laboratory capacity, testing will increase from an average of 2,500 to 4,500 a day.
Mr Reid said the supply of reagent chemicals for the testing remains a “significant worldwide challenge”.
Turning to personal protective equipment (PPE), he described securing more as tackling an “extremely volatile market”.
He added: “I will remain anxious every single day.”
Mr Reid said there are currently 1,100 ventilators in the Republic of Ireland.
He said more had been secured and are being tested, with 250 expected to be delivered to hospitals this week.
On human resource, he said 70,000 applications have been received in response to Ireland’s call for more help.
Of these, 27,000 are “self-identified” with relevant work experience and 820 have been progressed over the last week.
