Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has played down the idea of a coronavirus lockdown and said Ireland is following the South Korea model of social distancing, social isolation and contact tracing. Mr Varadkar said that the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan and the national public health emergency team will examine whether further restrictions on the public’s movement are needed. He added: “If they recommend further restrictions, we will implement those further restrictions. He said: “So what you need is a comprehensive strategy, involving social restrictions, social distancing, testing, contact tracing and isolation of those who are positive. That's very much what they've done in South Korea and that's actually the model we're following here,” he said.

Source: Irish Independent March 23, 2020 13:30 UTC