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The government has published a “roadmap to ease restrictions.”
It comes after Taoiseach’s announcement that the country will begin reopening on May 18.
The Covid-19 restrictions will remain in effect until that date.
However, Leo Varadkar has announced that the 2km exercise restriction will be extended to 5km starting May 5.
Varadkar also announced that from May 5, people over 70 who are locked up will be allowed to leave.
However, they are encouraged to continue with the cocoon.
After “two more weeks of strict restrictions,” the country will begin reopening in five three-week phases.
The government said they want to reopen the country “slowly and gradually.”
A statement said: “Each phase consists of a menu of options” that will be considered by the Government “as it gradually opens up economic and social activities.”
Examples of the types of actions to be considered in the various phases include:
Phase 1 (May 18)
- Allow outdoor meetings between people from different homes.
- Open childcare for healthcare workers
- Staged return of outdoor workers
- Open retailers that are primarily outdoor or those that were open during the first level of restriction (eg, opticians)
- Opening of certain public services outdoors.
Phase 2 (June 8)
- Allow home visits
- Develop plans and supports to open businesses taking into account the safety of staff and customers.
- Open small points of sale and shopping malls where social distancing can be observed.
- Open public libraries
Phase 3 (June 29)
- Allow small social gatherings
- Opening day-care centers, nurseries and preschools for essential worker children gradually
- Return to work for those with low levels of interaction
- Open non-essential points of sale with entry and exit at street level
- Open courtyards
Phase 4 (July 20)
- The opening of nurseries, kindergartens and preschools for the children of all other workers gradually
- Returning to work for those who cannot work from home
- Gradual relief of restrictions for higher risk services (eg hairdressers)
- Opening of museums, galleries, places of worship.
Phase 5 (August 10)
- Allow larger social gatherings
- Return to work in all sectors.
- In phases, from the beginning of the academic year 2020/2021, opening of primary and secondary schools and third-level institutions.
- Further relaxation of restrictions on high-risk retail services.
The government said the roadmap “also establishes a framework for future decision-making, which will be supported at all times by public health advice.”
They “will regularly evaluate the following criteria as we seek to keep transmission low” as the economy gradually restarts:
- The latest data on the progression of the disease.
- The capacity of the health service.
- The ability of the test and trace system.
- The measures established to protect vulnerable groups.
- An evaluation of the impact of excess morbidity and mortality as a consequence of restrictions.
The Cabinet will meet tomorrow “to agree on a new package of measures to help our companies restart, reconnect, and rehire staff who have been fired or suspended.”
A government statement said that: “The risk of a second wave of the virus is always present.
“As a country, we can only go from one phase to the next if the virus remains under control between each phase.
“There will be a long-term need for physical distance, good hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, regular cleaning, and for people to stay home and isolate themselves if they are sick.
“However, the Government is well aware that there are important consequences of social distancing measures.
“The normal structures of daily life (work, school, sport, entertainment) have temporarily ceased to exist and even as we reopen society, we will live our daily lives in a modified way as long as we live with this pandemic. “
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