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Tighter restrictions may be introduced, including a reduction of the exercise limit from 5 km to just 2 km, in a desperate attempt to tackle spiral Covid-19 infections.
Ánaiste Leo Varadkar has warned that unless new virus cases fall below 800 per day by the end of the month, the current Level 5 lockdown will continue.
His cabinet colleague Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said yesterday that the current 5km limit for daily exercise could be lowered to 2km in a week or two if current restrictions don’t work.
A political source said that the government was inevitably seeking further tightening of anti-Covid 19 restrictions.
“Ministers are taking the current situation seriously and the government will not be found to be lacking in its response,” the source told the Irish Independent.
The source also noted that the medical expert committee, Nphet, was now recommending additional measures and Mr. Ryan had spoken of the prospect of further adjusting the current 5km travel limit.
Another well-placed source said that as the latest restrictions had only been in place since last Wednesday, following the earlier tightening that took effect on Christmas Eve, there was no desire to rush further restrictions immediately.
“The only big options now left for the government are additional restrictions on schools or stop construction, and no one wants to go there yet.
“They want to see what effect the latest restrictions in force can have, and they want to see more enforcement of those restrictions,” the source said.
The cabinet will not meet again until Wednesday.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is due to be at the government buildings this morning after monitoring the events from his home in Cork over the weekend.
Mr Varadkar said yesterday that the restrictions should remain “more or less” as they are now until the most vulnerable are vaccinated.
“If we are still in 800 cases per day on average per day, or an average of five or seven days of that, at the end of January I don’t see how the restrictions could be eased,” he told RTÉ. This week from Radio One.
“I think there is now a strong case for telling the Irish people that we should leave the current restrictions more or less as they are now until such time as we have those most at risk vaccinated, even if that means going well into February. “
When asked if additional restrictions, such as the closure of works or the implementation of curfews, would be put in place if cases do not drop significantly, Vardkar said that “it was not possible to rule out” such measures, but that current restrictions should be applied . time to see if they are working.
He added: “The Level 5 restrictions started on December 24, but were only really fully activated on the 30th, and you need to leave it for at least 10-14 days to know if it’s making a difference or not.
Separately, Ryan said the 5km exercise limit could be lowered to 2km if current restrictions do not alleviate the current rise in Covid-19.
He told Newstalk’s On the Record that the government will have to “wait and see” if the current restrictions that must be in place until January 31 work.
He added that if the cases still do not decrease in a week or two, this measure could be implemented throughout the country.
Irish independent
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