Opinion
20 Jan 22

Taoiseach: “I think we can look forward to an earlier lifting of restrictions than we might have anticipated"

Miguel Ruiz

“We have come through Omicron better than we might have expected prior to Christmas," the Taoiseach said.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stated that changes to current Covid-19 restrictions may "very possibly" begin as early as next week.

NPHET are due to meet today to discuss upcoming changes to restrictions, while the Government will meet tomorrow. Depending on the outcome of those meetings, the Taoiseach said he hopes to issue a statement tomorrow about what lies ahead "in the short term and in the medium term."

He went on to describe the current situation as "positive" – noting that "we have come through Omicron better than we might have expected prior to Christmas.”

"We are entering into a new phase," he stated, in learning to live alongside Covid-19.

When asked if change was likely to happen as early as next week, he responded: "Very possibly, yes."

"The original restrictions were there till the end of the month," he continued. "We may now go before that.

"I think we can look forward to an earlier lifting of restrictions than we might have anticipated."

The current Covid-19 restrictions – including an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues – came into force on December 19, and were originally due to last until January 30.

He also remarked that there are some aspects of social-distancing "that we want to keep" going forward. Although England plans to end Covid-19 measures like compulsory mask-wearing from January 26, the Taoiseach stated that mask-wearing "will be an important feature that we should retain."

According to the Department of Health, the HSPC was notified of 6,843 confirmed cases of Covid-19 yesterday. In addition, on Tuesday, 5,295 registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal. There have been 6,087 deaths related to Covid-19 notified in Ireland.

910 Covid-19 patients were in hospital yesterday, of which 90 were in ICU.

Watch the full Morning Ireland interview with Taoiseach Micheál Martin below:

WATCH: @morningireland interview with Taoiseach Micheál Martin | Read more: https://t.co/4NZLK6i06k https://t.co/RzaN1iv1nn

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 20, 2022