The full set of the latest members' news bulletins published yesterday. They can be viewed here: Local Authorities, Education, Health, Civil Service, Services and Enterprises. This edition focused on Fórsa's response to the threat of Covid-19, and sets out the guidelines and procedures laid down by the Department of Pubic Expenditure and Reform. A shorter round-up of all stories can be found on our website.

Across the pond, US President Donald Trump has announced the suspension of all travel to the United States from the majority of European nations for 30 days, in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The travel restrictions will apply to the 26 members of the Schengen border-free area of the EU, which does not include Ireland or the UK. Elsewhere, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged world governments to urgently scale up their response to the pandemic.

Twitter, amongst others, has ordered all staff globally to work from home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. 

Back home, the public has been told to limit its social interactions and stop shaking hands with others as part of enhanced containment measures following the first death of a coronavirus patient in Ireland. Meanwhile, the head of the Health Service Executive (HSE) has said that the country is entering "a new phase" of the virus. The total number of cases in the Republic now stands at 34. 

The National Bus and Rail Union has called for a major scaling back of train and bus capacities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In a statement, NBRU General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said that while numbers travelling had started to drop off, his union remained concerned that seating and standing arrangements on buses and trains are not in line with those recommended for best practice of social distancing. Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has issued this information note on Covid-19 for employers.

The Times report that the Green Party’s proposal to form a national government to deal with coronavirus has been rejected by Fianna Fáil as a way of “making government less effective, not more”.

An finally, a Donegal-based company, which offered its staff the option of a 20% pay rise or a three-day weekend, is moving to the shorter working week after all of the staff opted for this rather than an increase in their pay.  3D Issue, which employs a total of 20 people including a number of remote developers, is a digital publishing software company which is in its fourteenth year of trading in Letterkenny.

In a bid to give you a few minutes respite from reality our zen is golden oldie from the RTE archives. I give you Paws, an opera singing, three legged dog.

Stay safe folks.