MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2020) Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has re-registered as a medical professional and will aid his country's efforts to combat COVID-19 by carrying out telephone assessments of those who may have come into contact with the disease, Irish media reports on Sunday.
According to the Irish Times newspaper, Varadkar successfully applied to re-join the medical register in March and will work one shift a week for the Health Service Executive (HSE), Ireland's national health service.
A government spokesman later in the day confirmed to The Journal news portal that Varadkar would be offering his services to the HSE during the outbreak.
The prime minister studied medicine at university and reportedly worked as a doctor for seven years before he became a politician.
In late March, the HSE launched a program called On Call for Ireland, calling for all health care professionals not working for the public health service to offer their services to treat the expected surge in critically ill people who have contracted COVID-19.
As of 13:00 GMT on Sunday, 4,994 cases of the disease have been confirmed in Ireland since the start of the outbreak, resulting in 158 deaths. A total of 390 new cases were reported in the preceding 24 hours.
