“Nothing can be ruled out” in relation to Covid – Micheál Martin

3,805 cases were confirmed today.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that "nothing can be ruled out" in relation to Covid on Sunday (14 November). He made the comments following a rise in Covid cases over the past number of weeks. "We are in a much different place than we were last year, due to vaccination, and because of now the booster campaign, which will help", he said, "The evidence internationally is that the booster, the third dose, is quite impactful, more impactful than the second dose, it's being said. And as I said, our data from the over 80s already, who've had the booster is encouraging in that respect. "But we also have to comply with existing guidance, and also, individually and collectively, reduce socialisation", he added. Discussions about the possibility of restrictions being reintroduced in Ireland following the rise in Covid cases are continuing, with NPHET recently making the recommendation to government that working from home full time should be reinstated. "We have reopened society. The economy has bounced back. Those are the positives in terms of thousands and thousands of people coming back to work, in terms of enterprises that might have thought they didn't have a future a year ago back up and running, so there are many positives to reopening society", Martin said. But it is having an impact on the Delta variant being so transmissible. It's having an impact on hospitalisation, on our health services, as it is across Europe, and across the world, so we have to be very mindful of that. We can never rule out having to take measures to reduce that impact", he concluded. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has called for people to cut back on the amount of social settings they are going to, including possibly avoiding a staff Christmas party if they have other plans. The booster vaccine is available for those 60 and over, and it has recently been approved for frontline healthcare workers.