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TAOISEACH Micheál Martin has poured cold water on the idea of a “circuit breaker” lockout of the kind that Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested might be necessary at some point in the future.
r Martin said, “I’m not sure I’m a runner in all honesty” and that any such proposal would have to be “resolved”
His comments come after Varadkar wrote about the prospect of a second lockdown on the Independent Sunday.
Mr Varadkar said that thinking about such a scenario “breaks my heart” and wrote about the difficulty of reopening
Referring to his controversial appearance on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live last week, where he outlined strong objections to a proposal by Nphet that the country immediately enter a Level 5 lockdown, Varadkar said he had made it a point not to rule out the ‘break of the circuit ‘idea.
He said: “This would represent a short, hard block to hitting the virus back on the head and reducing the number of cases to a manageable level …
“It may be necessary at some point.
“No other country in Europe has tried this.”
Mr Varadkar added: “It would be an experiment, but it could work. In Israel it seems to be working.”
He also said that some people have suggested that a ‘circuit break’ could “save Christmas” but added: “I’m not so sure. The problem is that when you are completely blocked it is difficult to get out of it.”
Tonight, Mr. Martin told RTÉ News: “We produced a plan not long ago, a gradual plan with tiers to give people an expectation of what might happen next.”
“In my opinion, a circuit breaker is experimental. I am not convinced that such a move is temporary and I think we need to be clear with people about that.
“The idea of shutting things down for two weeks and being able to come back as normal, I’m not sure it’s a runner, frankly.
“But it must be clarified if it is articulated and debated.”
Mr Martin said that Ireland is on Level 3 restrictions and added: “There is an opportunity, an opportunity here.
“If you look at the figures for Dublin, the figures have not grown exponentially in the last few days …
“In my opinion, across the country it can also have an impact, but it fundamentally depends on our behavior.”
He said: “We should all behave as if we have the virus. We should reduce social contacts, mask and with those measures I think we can stop the growth of this virus.”
Mr. Martin also said that there is the possibility of regional restrictions under the government’s ‘Living with Covid-19’ plan.
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