The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), concerned at the rise in Covid-19 cases, has recommended that the entire State be moved to the most severe level of restrictions contained in the Government’s five-stage roadmap for fighting the disease. The team concluded that the State should move to Level 5, the highest alert level in the Government’s strategy, for four weeks. Outside of Dublin there have been alarming increases: Donegal’s rate has gone from 18.8 per 100,000 cases to 257.6 and Monaghan’s from 37.5 per 100,000 to 189 over the same period. Following that process, the Government may decide to take more limited action based on not just the public health advice but the societal and economic impact of the measures. The Government must not only weigh up the public health advice and the risks to people’s health and the hospital system but the effect of further restrictions on society and the economy.

Source: The Irish Times October 05, 2020 05:28 UTC