A final decision about the reopening won’t be made until next Thursday, however.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said Ireland is “still on track” to further ease Covid-19 restrictions on 5 July, despite concerns regarding the Delta variant of the virus.
Subject to the public health situation at the time, 5 July is the date in which indoor services at pubs and restaurants can resume.
However, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan issued a warning on Monday as the Delta variant accounted for 20% of Covid-19 cases in the last week, with the CMO describing the increase as “concerning”.
Speaking to reporters about the variant on Tuesday morning, Varadkar said there was “definitely reason for concern” but not “panic” at this stage.
He said: “We’re still on track to ease restrictions further on 5 July, but we won’t be able to make a final decision on that until next Thursday when we see more data and we have the most up-to-date advice from NPHET.”
The Tánaiste said the Delta variant will become the most dominant in Ireland.
He explained: “That’s the way the biology works and as the number of Delta cases increases, the number of the other variants will go down.
“What we really want to see is what happens with the total number of cases and whether that impacts on hospitals in any way.
“In the UK, it has been the dominant variant for weeks and weeks now, but they have been able to keep indoor dining open, there’s been a small increase in hospital cases.”
The HSE has warned members of the public of potential outbreaks of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in Athlone in Westmeath amid “reports of house parties”.
In a statement on Monday, the HSE said the Department of Public Health in the Midlands is investigating suspected cases of the variant in the area which are associated with socialising which occurred on the west side of the river on Friday 11 June.
Anybody who was socialising in that area of Athlone and is now showing symptoms is being asked to get a test. The HSE said the test can be booked online here.
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