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The government is secretly making contingency plans to go to a national shutdown within three weeks, it is understood.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly urges we move to Level 5 on October 26, when the nation’s school children have their week-long Halloween half-term break.
The Cabinet could close schools for an additional two weeks to give the country a full 3-week lockdown, so that the Covid 19 virus is back under control.
The crowd has been split in half since the Greens’ Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan rejected NPHET’s advice to go into a total shutdown Sunday night.
(Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin)
It was the first time that an Irish government went against public health advice since the pandemic broke out last March.
A high-level political source said: “There is an absolute panic in the Government. The Covid virus is underway and they are in danger.”
“The numbers are getting worse by the day. The Taoiseach wants to stick with their five-stage plan and get people used to the idea of another lockdown.
“Minister Donnelly sees the school holidays as the ideal time to do it.
“High school teachers didn’t want to be teaching in class during a full-scale lockdown.
“He’s thinking about putting 400,000 people out of work, but hopefully they can live with it.
“The blockade of stage five will last three to four weeks. The ministers want everything to open and return to normal by the first week of December.
“If we can reduce the number of viruses and keep people safe, everyone can enjoy Christmas.”
The source added: “Until there is a vaccine, this is how it is going to be: lockdown, resurgence, resurgence.
“We are all going to have to live with it.”
After nearly three weeks, Stage 3 doesn’t appear to be working in Dublin, for example, where there were 218 cases on Wednesday.
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