Irish immunologist – “We’ll be back in beer gardens by June”

Trinity College immunologist Luke O’Neill has predicted that “we’ll be back in beer gardens with friends in June and indoor pubs towards the autumn.”

Speaking to The Irish Times, Professor O’Neill said that he expects Ireland’s Covid-19 death rate to fall by 95% once the top four priority groups in the country are vaccinated – that is people over 65 in long-term care facilities, frontline healthcare workers, people aged 70 and older, and older healthcare workers not in direct contact with patients.

O’Neill said that once this happens, the growth rate of coronavirus will go down but he added that “we will stay cautious.” Current Level 5 restrictions are in place until March 5, with schools expected to reopen on a phased basis February. However, O’Neill said that he “would like to see schools reopen after March 5.”

He also predicted that “we will be back in beer gardens with friends in June and indoor pubs towards the autumn but we’ll have one more summer holidaying in Ireland.”

Pubs in Ireland were asked to shut in March 2020, and those which do not serve food have remained shut ever since. On Friday evening, 1,254 new cases of Covid-19 were reported, along with 48 deaths.

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