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Eamon Ryan has suggested that the 5km exercise limit could be lowered to just 2km if Covid-19 continues to spread across Ireland.
The Green Party leader also said that schools are currently expected to reopen on January 11 as planned.
He explained that a further reduction of the travel limit could be considered if the virus is not controlled.
Ryan told Newstalk this morning: “The level of contact we have is always in our hands, so if that is, for example, the reduction of travel restrictions from 5km to 2km, which we did in March and Last April, and there are a variety of other different measurements that we could look at.
“But that’s for a week or two, if we find that the numbers aren’t starting to flatten out and decline.
“I think they can, nothing is for sure, but my sense of looking at traffic figures and anecdotally from friends, I think the Irish are very aware of the risks and the stakes. I think collectively we have been Good in the last Nine months and we will be this week, closing tightly, avoiding contacts and simple measures like that are the way to manage this.
“And I think that if we all do that, we will see those numbers start to drop again and we will avoid the worst consequences for our hospitals.”
It comes after Dr. Tony Holohan issued an urgent warning when he said that we may now be seeing a greater spread than at any other point in the pandemic thus far.
The medical director responded after Ireland was hit by a staggering rise in new cases last night with 3,394 more confirmed infections.
The latest figures were announced by the Health Department on Saturday.
Cork was the worst affected region in the country, with 389 new cases, followed by Dublin with 355.
Donegal also reported 339, while Louth had 258 and May 233.
And in response to the latest increase, the CMO said: “The incidence of COVID-19 is just as high, if not higher now than it was in March. Each individual needs to act like they are contagious.
“Hospitalizations are increasing to levels close to what we saw in the spring. Everyone needs to stay home other than for essential work or care.
“It is really important that the elderly and vulnerable do not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. This includes asking neighbors or family members to run errands like grocery shopping, limiting all contacts to only those people you live with or have to visit for essential care reasons.
“We need to rediscover the spirit of solidarity and community that we saw in March and April so that we can all do our part in protecting the elderly and vulnerable.
“People particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 include the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer.”
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