Updated at 10:35
Dr Tony Holohan has told Newstalk’s Late Breakfast with Mark Cagney that suggestions that the restrictions could last into March were a possibility.
“I can't rule that out, I couldn't rule that out - but at the moment, we have a four week opportunity. I know this wouldn't be possible - but if every single person could isolate themselves from every other person in the population for a period of 14 days, the whole infection would disappear.
“At the moment I'm not able to tell you that I see any sign that suggests that this is slowing down, unfortunately. With that very high level of infection it's going to take quite an amount of time - if I can say - to wash that level of infection out of the population.
“So we have it all to do in the four weeks until the end of January.”
He said the restrictions are very hard to have to accept again, both economically and the restrictions on personal lives and freedoms and all of those things.
Holohan added “But we do know that if we keep a very high level of compliance that most of us have held all the way through this, we know already that this is a measure that can work.
“It's unfortunate that we have to take it, but we're in the situation now where we need a measure - because this virus is out of control in the population.”
Vaccination roll-out
It comes as the chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said earlier that the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine will be reported to make the public aware of the progress of the programme.
People can be assured that the programme is being rolled out properly by reporting vaccination figures, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Dr Holohan defended the pace of the roll out of the vaccination programme saying it could be damaging if it was not done properly. The programme will be operated to the highest standards, he added.
However, the CMO warned that vaccination was not a reason for people not to take action now. He called on everybody to “go back to the basic public health measures” – to stay at home, avoiding social contacts.
When asked if he was frustrated that the Government had not taken NPHET’s advice in early December not to open the hospitality sector, Dr Holohan said that it was NPHET’s job to monitor the situation and make recommendations while the Government had a different job to do involving a whole range of issues, including the economic impact.
That was what the Government had done, he said.
Limit transmission
“Now it is back to us as individual citizens to take responsibility to limit transmission. Now is the opportunity to relook at our activity. If we each do what we can we can protect public health.”
The rise in figures recently had come about because the average number of contacts had increased sharply. The public had engaged in an increased amount of social activity which gave an opportunity for the virus to spread.
The basic measures of staying home, avoiding social contacts were important and were effective irrespective of the variation or different strains of the virus. The measures that we need to take are the same. It was not important to identify the variation. “We know enough to tell us what to do as individuals.
“Every one of us must look to our own behaviour. This is an opportunity to take action that can end transmission patterns.
“The message has got to be what to do going forward, not looking back. The basic objectives are to keep transmission at relatively low levels and to reduce hospitalisations and prevent the wave of mortalities that Europe has seen.”
