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Stephen Donnelly warned today that Ireland could move out of Tier Five restrictions region by region.
The Health Minister’s comments raise the possibility that some counties may be stuck in Level Five, with the strictest level of restrictions, until well into December.
Donnelly said that Ireland’s way out of Level Five “will depend on what the situation is.
“The Government and NPHET will look closely at it and look at a variety of factors.
“They look at the level of cases, the growth rate of the cases, the positivity rates, the R number and they also look at it county by county and region by region.”
Covid-19 rates have varied wildly in different parts of the country in recent weeks.
Co Tipperary, for example, has the lowest 14-day incidence rate (per 100,000 population) of any county in the country, with a rate of 116.6.
And if Premier County is likely to lead the pack when it comes to breaking out of Level Five, then Co Wicklow will not be far behind.
Wicklow is the next best county in Ireland in terms of its 14-day incidence rate, with 121.5 cases per 100,000.
Third is Co Waterford, a county that has made a remarkable change in recent weeks when it comes to the prevalence of the virus.
But only one other county, Co Kilkenny, has managed to keep its 14-day incidence rate below 200.
Otherwise, the situation has different shades of concern, with wild fluctuations between counties.
Cavan, which yesterday exceeded 1,000 cases per 100,000 during the last fortnight, is the most affected county in the country when it comes to the transmission of Covid-19.
It’s the league table that no one wants to be on top of, and if Donnelly’s warning is to be believed, it seems likely that Lake County will be subject to more stringent regulations than the rest of the country after 1 from December.
Co Meath is similarly affected, with a two-week incidence rate of 652.7, while Co Monaghan rounds out the worst trio of counties in the country with a rate of 389.3 cases per 100,000.
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