The Cabinet will meet this morning to consider updated recommendations on tackling the coronavirus from the National Public Health Emergency Team. A Government spokesman said that while public compliance with physical distancing measures had generally been good, there was clearly a need to reinforce the message of maintaining an adequate distance in public places. It looks set to tighten restrictions, but not go so far as a UK-style lockdown, for now at least. There are now 1,125 cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, and six people have died.

The Times reports that emergency legislation to impose a three-month rent freeze and a ban on evictions will be dealt with this week by the Dáil, when it sits on Thursday and by the Seanad on Friday. 

Elsewhere, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has called on insurers not to reject businesses’ claims for loss of earnings if they were advised by the Government to shut up shop to contain the spread of Covid-19, amid evidence the industry is relying on fine print and technicalities to avoid payouts. 

The Indo reports that thousands of workers are set to get an increase in the €203 a week emergency coronavirus payment as part of a new income support package during the pandemic, following predictions that the Government is set to announce a substantial hike in the COVID-19 payment.

Meanwhile, employers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak could face a significant number of redundancy claims, the cost of which could put many of them out of business, according to informed sources.  Read more about that here.

Dublin based Stobart Air, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service, is to begin temporary layoffs as it suspends its flights between Ireland and the UK from March 28 until further notice.

The company employs more than 400 people.

Amazon and other firms have reportedly been approached by the UK Government about delivering coronavirus test kits to frontline healthcare staff. According to The Examiner, the reported move is designed to utilise the companies’ delivery experience to accelerate efforts in the UK.

An Post has announced that there will be changes for some customers to delivery times from today as it introduces staggered working time for staff during the coronavirus outbreak, which will result in later mail and parcel deliveries for some customers from today. It added that customers in receipt of Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection welfare payments will receive two-week payments starting either today or next Monday, 30 March.

And finally, the International Olympic Committee is facing huge pressure to postpone the Tokyo Olympic Games this week rather than wait until its mid-April deadline – with a growing number of athletes, governments and national federations saying it is unfair to keep them in limbo during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Now for some socially distant fun. Locals hosted a bingo session for residents of the Canon Mooney Gardens flat complex in Dublin 4 over the weekend, with Easter eggs as prizes for the kids and possibly even more prized toilet rolls on offer for the bigger kids.

Have a good day folks.