While coronavirus cases are continuing to grow and will keep doing so over the next few weeks - it is important to note there are some positives.
Unfortunately Ireland's death toll rose by 10 on Thursday and the Republic figure now stands at 19 with a further 13 in the North of Ireland.
These numbers will continue to surge but it is important to keep looking for the positives amidst all this doom and gloom.
Follow the latest coronavirus updates in our live blog.
Here are some of the news stories to keep you optimistic;
Social distancing advice getting through to people
A survey released by the Department on Thursday shows that people are taking the social distancing measures seriously which can only be positive.
Research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health shows that while 35% of people are worried about their personal health, 77% of people are worried about the health of their family and friends.
The nationally representative online survey of 1,270 adults conducted today, which is conducted twice weekly, reveals:
- 66% of people say they are coughing into their elbow
- 81% say they are physical distancing when they are in a queue
- 65% of people are worried about the economy
- 32% of people are worried about their employment status
Cases growth behind predictions
Cases are continuing to grow in Ireland but are considerably less than what was predicted.
They grew by 16% on Thursday which is just above half of what the daily predicted growth was forecast to be just two weeks ago by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
At the current rate Ireland will have much less than the predicted 15,000 cases by the end of the month - which means the measures may be working and need to be kept up.
Promising signs in China
China reported its first locally-transmitted coronavirus case for three days on Friday, almost all its new cases now come from abroad.
There were 55 new cases across China on Thursday - 54 of them from overseas.
The origin country of the Covid-19 virus appear to be getting a handle on things and are looking at getting their lives back to normal in the coming weeks - hopefully something that's not too far away here in Ireland.
