The National Public Health Emergency Team is meeting today to study the latest trends of Covid-19 in Ireland.
A new colour-coded system is being considered to replace the reopening roadmap of ‘Phases’ which was originally set for the country.
The system, similar to Met Eireann’s coloured weather warnings, can be applied to specific regions, according to the Health Minister Stephen Donnolly.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Minister Donnolly has said it’s possible other local lockdowns similar to Laois, Offaly and Kildare could happen elsewhere if there is a surge in cases in a region.
The colours of the system are yellow, orange, red and blue. Minister Donnolly explained that most of the country is in the Yellow stage. Kildare, Laois and Offaly – where some restrictions are in place – are in the orange zone and a red warning would represent a large-scale lockdown.
The blue status (the colour of vaccines) would represent a time when a vaccine or effective treatment for Covid-19 was available.
NPHET will meet today to review the current trends of Covid-19 in Ireland.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn yesterday said: “The number of confirmed cases notified to us daily is likely to rise and fall this week. It is important to look at the wider trends we see in this disease in Ireland for context, and not simply one day’s figures in isolation. It will be next week before we see if measures introduced last weekend in Kildare, Laois and Offaly have had the desired effect in suppressing COVID-19 in these areas and minimising community transmission.”
The Department of Health reported one further death and 35 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday. This is the lowest number of daily cases reported in two weeks.
At least one of the newly reported cases is in Donegal. This figure will be confirmed in this evening’s report from NPHET.
