The four questions the Government are considering before potential April 5 easing of restrictions

Leo Varadkar has said that four questions will be considered before a decision is made on whether to ease Covid-19 restrictions on April 5.

Speaking on Ireland AM on Virgin Media yesterday, An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar expressed his regret at not being able to meet reopening dates after the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020. He said that he “felt very bad at the time that we were kind of giving people – publicans, people who wanted to organise outdoor events – this hope that we couldn’t deliver on. This time we want to be a little more cautious.”

Elaborating on that point, Varadkar said that Government are considering four questions, outlined below, before making a decision the next easing of restrictions:

• Is the vaccine rollout on schedule?
• Are there any variants we need to be particularly concerned about?
• Are the number of cases everyday still falling?
• Is the pressure being relieved on hospitals?

While there has been concerns from some quarters on vaccine delays, Covid-19 cases numbers are coming down, with 460 new cases confirmed on Thursday. Hospitals are also seeing fewer numbers of Covid patients.

The current set of Level 5 restrictions are due to end on April 5, with the Government set to make a decision towards the end of March.

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