Donnelly says restrictions likely to be lifted soon
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said that public health restrictions are likely to be lifted "very soon." However, he would not say if restrictions on 8pm closing time for the hospitality industry could be lifted by this weekend.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, the minister said he thinks it is "likely that measures will come in before the end of the month and then it’s a question of what is the best and safest way to unwind the restrictions in place." Mr Donnelly said cases numbers and hospitalisations are falling and "importantly the numbers in critical care, in spite of a tsunami of cases have remained steady." He added that it would be unfair for him to speculate on changes to the restrictions ahead of time.
He said: "What we all want to see is the quickest possible return to normal life and the lifting of all of the restrictions where possible but critically in a safe and balanced way so that we don’t squander the very hard-fought gains that the country now has." As regards restrictions being lifted on attendances at sporting events, Minister Donnelly said that he is hopeful that this will happen.
His comments come as it is expected that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) will make a wide range of recommendations on the easing of restrictions when it meets on Thursday.
United States
|
Cases: 46 252 513
Deaths: 750 423
Recovered: 0
|
India
|
Cases: 34 321 025
Deaths: 459 652
Recovered: 0
|
Brazil
|
Cases: 21 835 785
Deaths: 608 235
Recovered: 0
|
United Kingdom
|
Cases: 9 215 683
Deaths: 141 607
Recovered: 0
|
Russia
|
Cases: 8 494 589
Deaths: 237 619
Recovered: 0
|