Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has warned the State is at a “tipping point”, and that the coronavirus pandemic is “close to having us lock down the country again”. Speaking at the Oireachtas committee on Covid-19 on Wednesday, Mr Donnelly said that if public health advice is followed, schools and businesses can remain open and the virus can be suppressed. However, he said: “the reality is we are dealing with a virus that is close to having us lock down the country again. We are doing everything we can to avoid that.”He raised the prospect of lockdown measures still in place in Co Kildare being lifted, if the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) agrees. “If the restrictions can be lifted early based on public health advice, they most certainly will be,” he said.

Source: The Irish Times August 26, 2020 20:17 UTC