“We’re not out of the woods yet.”
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said it’s unlikely the government will provide a plan or timeline for reopening the country over the coming months at its announcement next Tuesday.
The government is set to provide an update on the current restrictions on Tuesday, with a six week outline plan having initially been expected to be announced.
The current restrictions expire on 5 April and in broad terms, severe restrictions look set to continue although a number of considerations will be given to a number of areas including outdoor gatherings as well the potential resumption of outdoor non-contact sport.
However, Varadkar dampened expectations of any grand plans for reopening and said the current situation in Ireland “appears to be deteriorating”.
Speaking on Thursday, Varadkar said: “On Tuesday we will give as much clarity as we can and as much hope as we can but we also have to be honest. We’re not out of the woods yet.
“I am hopeful about the summer, but the next couple of weeks are very worrying. The situation is deteriorating across Europe and appears to be deteriorating here as well.
“And we’ll give people as much clarity as we can, but we’ve seen on so many occasions that this virus rips up our plans and I don’t want to give people assurances for six weeks’ time that we then have to withdraw in three weeks’ time, that’s not fair either.”
Earlier on Thursday, it emerged that hairdressers and barbers will likely not be considered for opening until at least the middle of summer.
While Varadkar also said the presence of the B117 variant of Covid-19 means it’s “very hard to see” how it would be possible to lower cases below 500 each day.
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