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The government will discuss the removal of the 5km travel limit at next Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
Changes to Level 5 restrictions will be announced after the meeting and will go into effect Monday, April 5, according to government sources.
Removal of the 5km limit and a return to outdoor children’s sport are the preferred changes, but any lifting of restrictions will be “strongly warned” in case numbers and based on Nphet’s advice after experts in public health meeting on Monday.
Dr. Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer, said he would not “speculate” at this time about the outcome of that meeting.
However, concern is mounting over the stubbornly high number of cases reported across the country in recent days. Today, 606 new cases of Covid-19 were reported, along with three deaths.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said it was “very difficult to see” Covid-19 cases falling to the low levels seen last year. In fact, he said, it was difficult to see cases drop below 500 cases per day.
Mr Varadkar told the co-leader of the Social Democrats Róisín Shortall in Dáil that lower figures may not be possible due to the more virulent strain B117.
“Maybe it shows that going down to low numbers like 10, 50 or even 100 per day is not a prospect like it was last year because the virus has mutated and is more transmissible and deadly than the original wild strain,” he said. saying.
“Despite the enormous efforts of the Irish people to do the right thing, we’ve been stuck at around 500 to 600 cases a day and it’s hard to see how we’ll get much lower than that.”
Varadkar also confirmed that despite what Taoiseach Micheál Martin said two weeks ago, there would be no six-week or “medium-term” plan to lift the restrictions.
“We will give as much clarity and hope as we can, but we will also have to be honest, we are not out of the woods yet,” Varadkar said.
“The next few weeks are worrying, the situation is deteriorating here, we will give as much clarity as we can.
“I don’t want to give people guarantees for six weeks that we have to withdraw in three weeks, that’s not fair.”
Despite the case numbers, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said he expects a “slight easing of some restrictions” in April.
“I think it has to be this way,” he said. “I don’t want to speculate too much, but those 5 km are driving people crazy at this stage.
“The 5 km in an urban community are very different; the end of a field may not be reached in a rural community.
“I think we need to see how we can help people live with low-risk activities and do things outdoors that we know are safer than doing things indoors.”
Mr. Harris noted that the virus tends to “destroy our best plans,” but said he believes the government should establish as clear a roadmap as possible for reopening.
“Let’s be honest, we are not going to be in a position to do much more in April, we have to be honest about that,” he said.
“But I would like us to start explaining what the months of May, June and July would look like when we start to see the vaccine program really step up.”
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed that when Ireland has vaccinated the most vulnerable, we can expect to see “significantly fewer illnesses and deaths”, allowing people to return to a more normal life.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 tests were carried out on 1,600 people today at five walk-ins, the first day they were in operation.
Dr. Miriam Owens, HSE Public Health Specialist, said that most of the people who attended appeared to be in their 20s and 45s, which she appreciated.
He urged everyone living within 5 km of the Dublin and Offaly centers to attend the tests.
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