Ireland's prime minister, a former doctor, rejoined the health service and will work one shift a week to battle the coronavirus

Bill Bostock

April 6, 2020 1:57 PM

Ireland's prime minister Leo Varadkar signed back up to his country's medical register in March as the coronavirus outbreak worsened.

President Donald Trump and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar joke about not shaking hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Washington.

Varadkar, who holds the office of Taoiseach, practiced medicine until 2013, when he left the profession for politics.
Varadkar will work one day a week for the Health Service Executive and will conduct phone assessments of potential coronavirus patients.
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Ireland's prime minister rejoined his country's health service and intends to work to help it combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Leo Varadkar, a former doctor who now holds the office of Taoiseach, practiced medicine until 2013, according to The Irish Times and the Guardian

Varadkar will now work one day a week for the Health Service Executive, the body in charge of medical provisions in Ireland.

The 41-year-old's duties will involve identifying coronavirus cases over the phone, according to The Irish Times.

"Dr Varadkar rejoined the medical register last month," an HSE spokesperson told the Guardian. "He has offered his services to the HSE for one session a week in areas that are within his scope of practice."

In mid-March, the HSE put out a call for retired medics to return to the profession to help fight thr coronavirus.

Varadkar was one of 50,000 to sign up within 72 hours, the Irish Times previously reported.

Ireland has not yet seen a mass outbreak of the virus, but 158 deaths and 4,994 cases of the coronavirus had been reported as of Sunday.

Varadkar imposed a "Stay at Home" order on March 27.

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