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The government has been preparing a detailed strategy for the past few days to move to Level 4 or Level 5, said Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
In response to the continued escalation of Covid-19 cases across the state, Varadkar said, the cabinet has been working to model what the higher levels will mean to people, and also to establish clear strategies on how the state will exit. those levels. .
The work he said was ongoing is anticipated by the Cabinet accepting the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) recommendation to move to Level 5 amid an exponential spread of the coronavirus, less than fifteen days after rejecting a similar advice.
Speaking outside government buildings on Friday, Mr. Varadkar warned that a second state shutdown would be more difficult than the first.
“The move to Level 5 has to be thought through, with all its implications for business, health, travel, employment and education,” he said.
He also stressed that any escalation would have to be accompanied by an exit strategy that clearly establishes for citizens the path by which the State could return to a lower level.
He also said that the government’s mandate was to take into consideration broader factors in addition to public health.
GAA between countries
“The Government, when making any decision to lower the level to four or five or to lower it again, has to take into account a number of things in addition to public health objectives,” said Tánaiste.
He cited the impact of a lockdown on other health services, mental health, services for the disabled, education, society, jobs and businesses.
“I feel like a second lockdown would be much more difficult than the first,” he said, adding that the public would want and hope to know when the restrictions would be eased again.
When asked about the GAA’s organization of inter-county games, Varadkar said sporting events across Europe were being canceled due to players having Covid-19 or being close contacts.
“It’s possible [to do] but it is only possible if it is done in a very safe way and that means trying to blow bubbles and cocoon the players, ”he said. “It’s easier for professional sports than it is for amateur sports like GAA, but ultimately, it’s a decision for them.”
‘Not surprised’
Varadkar said he would not have expected Nphet to back down from the advice he had been given earlier. “Given that the pandemic is getting worse and it’s a worsening outlook, I wasn’t surprised that they kept their advice,” he said.
Expanding on why he thinks a second lockdown would be more difficult, he said some companies may not survive the shutdown for an extended second period.
He added that it was also more difficult for people, as Ireland was now entering “winter and bad weather and dark nights and everything in between.”
That is why it is important, he added, to provide assurance about how long it could last, the objectives that the State needed to achieve and what the exit strategy would be like.
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