The Government is set to decide on new restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 across the country as public health officials have recommended tightened restrictions for household gatherings.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) recommended yesterday that visits to homes be restricted to six people from another household.
NPHET also recommended that the entire country remain at Level Two restrictions for three more weeks, while Dublin and Donegal will remain at Level Three restrictions.
Dr Nuala O'Connor, lead advisor on Covid-19 at the Irish College of GPs, has said far more pressure on hospitals can be expected in the weeks ahead.
There’s always a lag between the number of cases, followed by the hospitalisations and then followed by the deaths and we just need to be careful not to be lulled into a false sense of security.
“One of the things that I think has been giving people a little bit of false reassurance is the fact that there, to date, we haven’t had the same number of deaths, but the number of deaths are rising.
“There’s always a lag between the number of cases, followed by the hospitalisations and then followed by the deaths and we just need to be careful not to be lulled into a false sense of security.”
A statement issued by the Department of Health yesterday evening following NPHET’s recommendations stated: "NPHET have further advised that Government extend the Level Two measures currently in place for a further period of three weeks, with Donegal and Dublin remaining at Level Three."
NPHET will continue to monitor the rising rates of Covid-19 infection in other counties with Monaghan, Cork and Galway of particular concern at the moment, with the statement adding: "While there continues to be a number of counties with particularly high incidence, the NPHET’s main concern now is the overall national picture".
It comes as 442 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the State yesterday, while another four deaths were recorded as a result of the virus.
Dublin recorded 170 cases, with 47 recorded in Cork, 28 in Donegal, 23 in Meath, 21 in Galway, 20 in Monaghan, and the remainder spread across 20 other counties.
