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The Taoiseach has confirmed that the Level Five restrictions will extend until at least March 5.
Micheal Martin said this morning that while the case numbers “are going in the right direction,” a longer lockdown is needed to reduce infection rates.
His comments are a confirmation of reports that emerged last night after a cabinet subcommittee meeting on Covid-19, when top politicians agreed to a series of new measures, as well as a prolonged lockdown.
Martin warned that new strains of the virus, particularly the UK variant, which is becoming the dominant version in Ireland, mean that people must follow Covid-19 measures.
“That speaks to the need to adhere as strictly as possible, each of us individually and collectively, to the guidelines,” he told reporters before a cabinet meeting today.
“Those who work on the front lines have been truly heroic in the last month, but the number of hospitals is too high and the number of people in intensive care is too high.”
While the number of cases is declining, he said, there will still be a significant number of Covid-19 patients in the hospital at the end of February.
“That is the real and clear motivating factor in terms of the measures that we are going to take today, in terms of continuing nationally with restrictions and also seriously restricting travel.
“We tell people to stay home, it will produce the best results in the shortest time possible.”
The confirmation of the Taoiseach comes after Leo Varadkar argued last night that a zero Covid approach would not work in Ireland unless Northern Irish politicians agreed to it.
Speaking on RTE’s Claire Byrne Live, she said: “The number of cases is decreasing, but it is still not low enough.
“Our hospitals are in a very difficult position as they use the emergency capacity for ICU and intensive care right now, so the advice to Cabinet tomorrow is that we should extend the Level Five lockdown until March.”
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