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The state faces additional health costs of more than € 3 billion to deal with the impact of Covid-19 and other pressures on services this winter and next year, as part of plans the government is considering.
The ministers are also set to announce next week a general framework for the state on how to live with Covid-19 for the next six months. As part of this plan, health services for the winter are expected to cost in the region of 600 million euros.
High-level sources said that this plan would involve new “community centers” to provide services, as well as new diagnostic services that patients could receive outside of traditional hospital settings.
This winter plan is part of the ongoing discussions on health spending between the Department of Health, HSE, the Department of Public Expenditure and the Department of Taoiseach.
It is also understood that the bill for personal protective equipment in the last quarter of 2020 and in 2021 will probably reach 1,500 million euros.
In addition, the cost of implementing and operating a revised monitoring and testing system is expected to range from € 900 million to € 1 billion over the same period.
The government’s plan to be released next week is expected to put the entire state at level 2, the second most benign of the five levels. This is despite the high levels of the current case in Dublin that warrant at least Level 3.
Government sources said Dublin is likely to be listed with all other counties in Level 2, with some text to recognize higher levels of the virus in the capital.
Different regions
Yesterday’s figures from the National Public Health Emergencies Team (NPHET) reported that 121 of 211 new cases of Covid-19 were in Dublin, with one new death.
Over time, the plan will allow different regions to be at different levels, depending on the situation on the ground, the sources said. However, no more than two tiers would be allowed at the same time in the state, given its small geographic size.
At level 2, sports fields would allow no more than 50 fans, according to NPHET’s advice to the Cabinet. However, Cabinet subcommittee ministers on Thursday voiced strong disagreement over those low numbers, and the plan is expected to significantly increase the numbers allowed at each tier, to several hundred at Tier 2.
The government is also considering allowing more attendance, up to 5,000 in large stadiums, but the numbers have not been finalized.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan also hinted yesterday that the government will consider moving from quarantine to testing for people entering the country.
The government is expected to adopt the EU’s color-coded proposal for common travel that favors testing over quarantine. “I think it has real benefits. ” he said .
Amid mounting pressure on public finances due to Covid-19, it has also emerged that any widespread public sector wage hike is unlikely next year as part of any new wage deal. The Department of Public Expenditure held preliminary talks with public service unions this week.
Yesterday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that Ireland could suffer “multiple economic blows” from Covid-19. He said that many hypotheses assume that the pandemic will only have an economic hit. “There are more likely to be multiple waves,” he said.
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