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Facial covers should be used indoors where social distancing cannot be practiced to limit the spread of the coronavirus, public health officials have recommended to the government.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has also given the green light to the planned relief of the restrictions starting next Monday, The Irish Times understands.
The Cabinet is meeting today to discuss the NPHET package of recommendations, which sources say contains no “surprises.”
The measures are expected to be announced at a press conference attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Simon Harris and Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan.
The proposal for people to wear face covers will be optional and is intended as an “additional hygiene measure” in addition to existing advice on handwashing and social distancing.
The NPHET council, which will be the subject of a major public information campaign, emphasizes that not everyone can wear face covers and that no one should be stigmatized for not doing so.
advice
The campaign is also expected to provide advice to people on how to make their own face covers so that the supply of health-grade face masks is not affected.
It is understood that the Government will seek to clarify the change in the restrictions that will allow four people from different homes to meet abroad.
Some sources suggested that it may be recommended that people only meet in groups of four once a day, although this has not yet been confirmed, rather than meeting in different groups at different times throughout the day.
It was also emphasized that it does not mean that people can, for example, invite guests to roasts. This would imply that people from different family units use the bathroom in someone else’s house, a source suggested.
It is also emphasized that this will not mean that people will be able to visit the homes of friends or family. “We don’t want people in other people’s homes,” said a source.
“The five-kilometer travel limit and social distancing will also apply to such meetings.”
Road map
According to phase one of the Government’s roadmap to reopen society and business, if the medical council allows it, phase one will be seen on Monday, May 18. It means they will reopen garden centers, farmers markets, hardware and home goods, as well as opticians, bike and motor repair shops, and phone repair shops. Outdoor construction workers can return, including gardeners and workers on assignments. Up to four people who do not live together can meet outdoors while being kept at least two meters apart.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Dáil on Thursday that the government was increasingly confident that the first phase of easing the restrictions would continue on Monday.
He said the virus “is a retreating fire. We must put out every spark and kill every ember.”
Speaking at the Dáil during a debate on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said: “We are still in phase zero. By the time we assume that progress is inevitable, we risk going backwards.”
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