Taoiseach Micheál Martin has expressed concern about stubbornly high Covid-19 case numbers and said “the journey” between now and April 5th would determine the extent to which restrictions can be eased next month.
Echoing concerns expressed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which reported 10 deaths and 646 cases on Friday, Mr Martin called on the public to protect the progress made to date.
As The Irish Times reports, he said the Government would tell people in the week of March 29th what restrictions can be softened the following week.
The measures currently under consideration are an easing of the 5km travel limit, a staggered return of construction and allowing people to meet outdoors.
“There is no point in opening up and having to close again,” he told RTÉ. “We want to do this in a sensible way. That does mean that people have to stay with us on this and I just want to say to people, you know we’ve made great progress as a country since Christmas.
“We have successfully partially reopened the schools, but we will keep an eye on those numbers and it’s the journey between now and closer to April 5th that will determine the announcement on the 5th in terms of what we can do for April.”
An update on #COVID19 in Ireland from Deputy Chief Medical Officer @ronan_glynn pic.twitter.com/aV502E4Wuv
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) March 12, 2021
Delivery pledges
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and HSE chief executive Paul Reid on Thursday criticised vaccine maker AstraZeneca for failing to meet its delivery pledges.
Mr Martin said he met the chief executive of Johnson & Johnson, which has had its one-shot vaccine approved for use in the EU this week, and will meet AstraZeneca later to discuss the delays.
He said he will also have a conversation with US president Joe Biden during their online meeting to mark St Patrick’s Day about Covid-19 and the global vaccination rollout.
It has been reported that millions of AstraZeneca vaccines are in storage in America as the country has not yet approved its use. Mr Martin said he did not believe these would go out of date.
Nphet on Thursday raised concerns about the stubbornly high number of cases, around 500 a day, still being detected and cautioned that the situation in the State could decline if people let their guard down.
The infection numbers have been linked to the more transmissible B117 variant and greater mobility in the population.
