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Restricting visitors to homes helped reduce the spread of the coronavirus and the government must “take that into account” as it seeks to lift Level 5 restrictions, said Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Martin said the government will make a decision Thursday or Friday on how to get out of the six-week lockdown after hearing advice from the state’s National Public Health Emergency Team.
The cabinet is meeting on Tuesday to hear the views of government ministers on lifting Covid-19 restrictions ahead of meeting with Nphet.
“Nphet will give his advice, but the Government will decide how we get out of Level 5,” Martin told reporters on a visit to inspect the Department of Agriculture’s border control facilities after Brexit at the port of Dublin.
The Taoiseach said that the chairman of the government’s vaccine task force, Professor Brian MacCraith, had told it that he hoped to have a vaccine distribution strategy ready by December 11.
The Taoiseach said it will require “a national effort” to “get the vaccines out properly and safely” with the cooperation of various state agencies once the vaccines go through safety approvals.
Mr. Martin warned that the arrival of vaccines “was not the time to relax” but rather the time to “redouble” efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
The meetings this week “will resolve the exit from Level 5 at the end of this month,” which is the goal and objective of the government, he said.
Super spreader events
When asked about the government’s deliberations on how to get out of the lockdown on December 1, Martin said that he had analyzed how the virus spread in August, September and October.
“Super spread events” such as gatherings and congregations, including events involving alcohol, have been shown to spread the virus, he said.
“Ultimately, vigilance is key, human behavior is key,” he said. “What has come up, the restriction of visitors to homes, seems to have had an impact, so we need to keep that in mind as we move into December.”
He acknowledged that visiting restrictions had been “very difficult for people.”
“The good news is that what you are doing is working. We manage our hospitals in terms of ICU number, in terms of hospitalization. We have kept our schools open, ”he said.
The Taoiseach said that the initial strategy of Level 3 restrictions on domestic mixing followed by Level 5 restrictions “worked and has worked.”
“There has been a narrative around this that I don’t think has been helpful or accurate. It has worked. We have lowered the numbers a lot, “he said.
“Do we want to go lower? Of course we do and we have another week to lower the numbers. “
Martin also said that he expected RTE executives to appear before the Oireachtas media committee to discuss Covid-19 social distancing violations by high-profile presenters at a retirement event.
This would be “the required follow-up,” he said. He reiterated his view that the breach of the guidelines had been “very disappointing”, but acknowledged that there have been “sincere apologies from all concerned”.
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