[ad_1]
People will not be allowed to gather outside or travel more than 5 km from their home until at least May, under a new plan for Living with Covid-19 that is being considered by the government.
The country faces at least 10 more weeks of lockdown with the health service still struggling to cope with the variant of Covid-19 that first emerged in Britain.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) gave the Taoiseach and his ministers a bleak outlook for the next few months at a cabinet committee meeting on Covid-19 on Thursday.
Three ministers who attended the meeting insisted that restrictions will not be eased until May – beyond the reopening of schools and the return of construction work.
However, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar sought to downplay suggestions that Level 5 restrictions would remain in effect for more than two months despite their ministers privately admitting that Covid regulations would not be lifted.
Ministers said guarantees could only be given for schools returning next month and possibly construction in April, and only in May will Cabinet examine further restrictions.
The ministers said the government will consider easing the 5km travel ban and that people will also be allowed to gather outdoors if the virus is under control in May.
However, there are no expectations that any other business or social sector will return to this point.
Various sources involved in the development of the government’s new plan downplayed any expectation that home visits will be allowed between now and May.
There is great concern about how quickly the new variant can spread indoors, which could further delay the reopening of non-essential outlets.
Schools and nurseries are expected to return between early March and April.
They will be opened in stages and will be reviewed every two weeks to assess the impact of their return on the spread of the virus.
Construction work is likely to resume in April and this will be reviewed periodically. However, there is no proposed date decided to allow construction workers to return to construction sites.
The new Living with Covid-19 plan will focus more on the National Vaccination Program and one million people a month are expected to get vaccinated starting in April.
The vaccination rate will be a key indicator to review any movement between levels of restrictions in the new plan.
It has also emerged that Nphet and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (CANI) are considering moving people with serious medical conditions higher on the priority list for vaccines.
The Cabinet Committee on Covid-19 will meet again on Monday to further discuss its revised plan for Living with Covid-19 before a full Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Mr. Martin warned that there will be no significant relaxation of Covid restrictions before the end of next month, while acknowledging the continued stress and pressure on the adult population.
“I’m saying it really depends on the progression of the disease,” he said. “I think our feeling is that obviously the vaccination program will have an impact on this, but we will evaluate it again closer to the end of March. There is not going to be a large-scale reopening of society, that’s the point. “
He said he hoped young children, older children and the first and second class in elementary, along with Leaving Cert students in high schools, would be the first to return.
He denied that there was confusion around the reopening of society, but acknowledged that there was concern and anxiety in the population. “I think people are very concerned about the protracted nature of this lockdown, but that’s a function of the variant and a function of Covid.
“I’ve been very direct with people in terms of saying there is not going to be any major reopening in the next term. But the implementation of the vaccination program gives us hope in the medium term. It also makes it wise to be cautious and conservative. “
The deployment of vaccines is “really changing the landscape in terms of the impact of Covid-19 in our country.”
Online editors
[ad_2]