Coronavirus: 30,000 people respond to Irish health service emergency recruitment drive

‘It has been a phenomenal response,’ says HR director

More than 30,000 people have offered to help the Irish health service as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.

The responses flooded in after Ireland launched a massive recruitment drive for healthcare professionals just two days ago.

The Be On Call for Ireland campaign asked those not already working in the public health service if they could help out, as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.

The HR director of Health Service Exective (HSE) said that the emergency recruitment drive – which used the slogan “your country needs you” – has now received more than 30,000 responses.

“The call was only put out at lunchtime on St Patrick’s Day so it has been a phenomenal response,” Anne Marie Hoey told RTE radio.

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There are currently 366 confirmed cases of the flu-like virus in Ireland, and two people who were diagnosed with the disease have since died.

The government announced last week that all schools and universities were to close, and urged all mass gatherings to be cancelled, in a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

“If we have a collective national response we will save potentially thousands of lives,” Simon Coveney, the tanaiste, said.

The measures – which also included shutting down childcare facilities in the country – came into force last Thursday and would last for two weeks, the government said.

The recruitment drive for health professionals came after the Irish government warned earlier this week it expects a 30 per cent increase in the number of coronavirus cases every day.

The number of infections rose by 74 on Wednesday to stand at 366 in total.

The Irish health service said on Thursday it had ordered hospitals and healthcare facilities to immediately suspend parking charges for staff for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak.

HSE CEO Paul Reid said: “As we face in to a very difficult period, it is only right that we make every effort to ensure that staff are supported in their work.

“Therefore I have directed today that all hospitals and healthcare facilities suspend parking charges for staff for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis, as a small mark of our gratitude for their efforts.”

Coronavirus, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation last week, has infected more than 218,000 people internationally.

The number of fatalities jumped to 9,000 on Thursday.

Additional reporting by agencies