Dr Cillian De Gascun, chair of the Covid-19 Expert Advisory Group, has expressed concern about people hosting house parties during phase 3 of Ireland's roadmap.
Dr De Gascun, who is also director of the National Virus Refence Laboratory, told
The Pat Kenny Show this morning that while gatherings of up to 50 people indoors are now allowed, this can only happen at locations where "social and physical distancing can be maintained."
He added that since phase 3 began on Monday, "we're seeing an increased number of close contacts associated with the confirmed cases that we've seen in recent days. While that's to be expected as we reopen society, it also suggests that people aren't restricting their social network as we've asked them to do. We're not counting casual contacts in those numbers. We're just counting close contacts."
Dr De Gascun went on to say that the 50-person rule for indoor locations "certainly not intended to mean a house party. It's intended towards locations like a church or town hall, where 50 people can be indoors but maintain physical distancing."
More information on the guidelines for phase 3 can be found
here.
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