Two further weeks of lockdown will be followed by a phased lifting of the restrictions on Irish life to begin on May 18th, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced on Friday evening.
Speaking at Government Buildings in a live televised address, Mr Varadkar warned beginning the opening-up of the country too soon could result in “going back to square one”, with a rise in the number of cases, hospital admissions and deaths.
Should the progress in containing the virus continue, he said, the Government would begin to ease the restrictions on May 18th in five phases, three weeks apart, each dependant on the success of the previous one. He warned that if any stage resulted in a “second wave” of the virus, restrictions would be reimposed.
The final phase, which will allow for a gradual return to normal working arrangements, as well as a return to sports, theatres, shopping centres and cultural gatherings, will begin on August 10th. Pubs and nightclubs will be permitted to open where strict social distancing can be enforced. Schools and colleges will reopen in September and October for the new academic year.
Over-70s
The Taoiseach did announce some minor changes from next week – extending the 2km limit for travel from home to 5km and telling the over-70s they could leave their homes as long as they stayed within 5km and did not have contact with anyone else.
Senior counsel Michael McDowell said, however, that there was no basis in law for having different rules for the over-70s, who were bound by the same regulations as everyone else.
At a briefing with chief medical officer Tony Holohan on Friday night, Minister for Health Simon Harris said he would sign regulations extending the powers of gardaí to enforce the restrictions until May 18th.
Measures relating to illness benefit and jobseekers’ allowance are being extended to the middle of June, he added.
The Cabinet will hold another special meeting on Saturday morning to approve a package of business supports proposed by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe. It is expected these will include substantial liquidity supports for businesses affected by the Covid-19 shutdown and new forbearance on rates and tax payments.
The Government published a 22-page document outlining the plan to lift the restrictions. Mr Harris described it as a “living, breathing document” about a return to “some kind of new normal”.
‘Partnership with the people’
The roadmap was about “trying to strike a balance” and building on progress “without jeopardising it”.
He too warned that getting the timing for the lifting of measures wrong would risk lives, and moving too soon in this direction risked a failure that would have a “devastating” impact on thousands of people.
Mr Harris described the plan as a “partnership with the people” and said it needed to be “owned by everyone in the country”. He added: “If we don’t get it right, we’ll end up standing still or even going backwards.”
The road ahead would be tough but would be “worth it”.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 Garda members will be on duty on 12-hour shifts as part of Operation Fanacht this bank holiday weekend to ensure compliance with public health restrictions aimed at combating Covid-19.
The operation began mid-week and is set to continue up to midnight on Monday, with checkpoints being put in place on major roads nationwide.
However, despite fears of complacency around compliance with the coronavirus restrictions, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said several times this week Garda members had found people understood the restrictions and were following them.
Garda sources told The Irish Times that in the 48-hour period up to Friday night there had been no noticeable shift towards non-compliance and they had also seen no concerning increase in traffic volume.
