Micheál Martin said the Government was not just watching the figures on new cases but also the level of hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths in deciding on imposing any restrictions. He said the State was the best performing in Europe on the seven-day average of new cases. On Tuesday the country moved from Level 5 to Level 3 restrictions with the reopening of non-essential retail and other public amenities but household visits remain restricted until December 18th. Mr Martin said the expectation was that cases would continue to fall this week due to the lag from remaining restrictions. He said an increase in cases after the Government permitted household visits for Christmas after December 18th would depend on people’s behaviour.

Source: The Irish Times December 01, 2020 12:56 UTC