A NPHET letter sent to Government last week stated that a '21-day intervention' might be required in January if Covid-19 daily case numbers near 400.
The National Public Health Emergency Team has warned the Government that a "major increase in socialisation" could cases rise to 450 per day by the end of December.
In a letter sent ahead of the move to Level 3 restrictions last week, NPHET told Health Minister Stephen Donnelly that increased socialising over the festive period "could lead to much higher levels of viral transmission than have been seen to date”. The new lighter measures include the reopening of restaurants, gastropubs and non-essential retail while restrictions on household visits will be eased on December 18.
In their letter, NPHET stated that 'it would be possible to suppress the spread of the virus with a 21-day intervention (in January), but only if it begins as case numbers near 400 a day.'
Yesterday, 242 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, taking Ireland's total since the beginning of the pandemic to 74,468. On Saturday, 456 new cases were confirmed but this was
explained as 'a technical issue that delayed uploading of laboratory results to the HPSC being resolved'.
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