The Big 6 – Tuesday February 23rd | WLRFM.com

Every evening at 6 o'clock, WLR brings you the 6 biggest stories of the day.

The number of patients with Covid-19 at University Hospital Waterford has fallen to its lowest level in more than six weeks. According to the HSE, there were 39 patients with the virus at the facility last night. The last time the figure was below 40 in Waterford was the 7th of January.

Cabinet has agreed to extend Level 5 lockdown restrictions until April 5th, while schools will reopen from March 1st. The Irish Times reports that there are not expected to be any other significant alterations to the current lockdown bar the return of education. The announcement is expected during an address by the Taoiseach after 6pm this evening.

Waterford is one of four counties in the south under a status orange rainfall warning along with Cork, Kerry and Tipperary. The warning is valid until 9.00 pm tonight. A status yellow alert is also in place for strong winds, it will remain in force until 6.00 pm.

A proposal to abandon a sliproad in the Co Waterford village of Lemybrien has been met with scepticism from local councillors. The measure has been recommended by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as part of a plan to slow traffic through the village. The slip road connects the N25 to the R676 Carrick road, the proposal is to close off the road instead forcing traffic to slow down and make a turn further up the road.

A search has been stood down in Waterford City this afternoon and the person involved has been located safe and well. Today at 14:44 the Irish Coast Guard activated the pagers of Waterford City River Rescue following reports of a person in danger. Waterford City River Rescue’s lifeboats the “Lenny O” and “Trish Nell 2” were launched.