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It is “very difficult” to see daily cases fall below 500 or 600, as the virus has “mutated” and is now “more deadly”, said Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
The Fine Gael leader told Dáil that the prospect of 10, 50 or 100 cases per day is unlikely due to the B117 variant.
“Going down to very low numbers like 10, 50 or even 100 per day is not a prospect like it was last year because this virus has mutated, now it is much more transmissible and now it is more deadly as we know. than the original wild strain, ”he said.
Mr. Varadkar said that even with the “enormous” efforts of the public, it would be difficult to reach fewer than 500 or 600 cases a day.
“Despite enormous efforts by the Irish to do the right thing, we remain stuck at around 500 to 600 cases a day.
“It is very difficult to see how we are going to get much lower than that,” he added.
The Tánaiste said it expects Ireland to receive more than a million doses of vaccines by the end of March, with 800,000 of those injections administered.
The government is expected to make a formal announcement on the slight easing of Level 5 measures next Tuesday, with the usual Thursday meeting postponed from today until Monday.
This will give health officials more time to assess the true impact of any St. Patrick’s Day gatherings that have taken place.
There have also been many calls for a detailed roadmap out of the lockdown, with The Path Ahead plan only focusing on the period leading up to April 5.
There are few details about what will happen after April 5 and when nonessential retail or sectors such as hospitality may reopen.
Mr. Varadkar said that next week, the message will be one of “hope” but also one of “honesty and realism.”
“But we are not there yet. Cases are increasing again. We are really concerned about the possibility of a fourth wave before the summer.
“I am hopeful and the Government is hopeful, now we have vaccines and the vaccines work.
“We know that they will allow us to live with the virus in the future in a way that we have not been able to do in the past year,” he added.
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