Government to take ‘decisive action’ tomorrow, says Harris

SENIOR EDUCATION MINISTER Simon Harris has said the government will take “decisive” action tomorrow after meetings between coalition leaders and several ministers yesterday to discuss how to respond to public health councils to bring Ireland to Level 5 of restrictions.

Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week in Politics, Harris said that “I want people to know that the government will act tomorrow. The action will be decisive ”.

Harris said the action taken will be implemented across the country.

“It is now clear that the virus is at such a level in all of our communities that a county-by-county approach is not enough,” he said.

Harris said more restrictions will need to be introduced tomorrow, and that Tier 3 “has not worked in terms of getting the virus where it needs to go.”

The cabinet will meet tomorrow to make a decision on the imposition of new restrictions.

Yesterday, the three coalition party leaders, along with the Ministers of Health, Finance and Public Expenditure, met to discuss whether Ireland should adopt Level 5 restrictions following a recommendation from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

Although only the full Cabinet will make an official decision, which has yet to meet, it is understood that there is an inclination to impose Level 4 restrictions with some modifications to effectively bring the limitations between Level 4 and Level 5.

Politicians at yesterday’s meeting heard from high-level members of the NPHET team about the current Covid-19 situation in Ireland that led to the recommendation.

Harris said the trajectory of the virus is what really worries our health officials. “

“I spoke to the Tánaiste, and they heard a wide range of presentations from NPHET and from Paul Reid, the head of HSE, but also presentations on what happened during the last shutdown and some disturbing statistics on reports of domestic violence released by a third party.” Harris said.

“This is different from March and April. We ask people to adopt more restraints a second time, and we have to balance that with our honest views of what people can hold and endure. But we will act tomorrow. ”

A further 1,276 Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Ireland yesterday, bringing the total number of cases to 48,678.

The 14-day national incidence rate is now 231.6 per 100,000.

A statement from the Government Press Office said that in yesterday’s meetings, the medical director, Dr. Tony Holohan, gave “an analysis of the virus in each region of the country”, and the executive director of HSE Paul Reid gave ” an evaluation of the hospital’s current response capacity, and an update of the test and trace system ”.

“Presentations were also made on the broad economic, labor and social implications of moving to tougher restrictions. Other important topics such as mental health and domestic violence were also discussed, ”the statement said.

Central to the discussions was the overarching goal of protecting lives and livelihoods. “

“The Health team informed the ministers that children were safer in schools, transmission rates are low and that the continuous opening of schools is very important for the development and well-being of children and young people,” he says. the notice.