Face masks, the second wave and our new limits

Big day tomorrow. What can I do from then under phase one of this plan to reopen the country? Remember when we could go to meet friends? Well you can start doing that again but only in a restricted way. Groups of up to four people can meet up outside but they must be within 5km of home and practise social distancing — so no hugging and kissing.

Is that it? No, there’s quite a bit more to it. Teaching staff can go back in to school buildings to organise remote learning. Building sites can reopen and garden centres and hardware shops will open again. Many tourism sites and outdoor sports facilities can be visited again in a safe way so we all have a few more freedoms.

÷ What can’t I do?

÷ That’s the downside. There is still a lot that is not happening. Non-essential travel is to be avoided and anyone who can work from home must keep doing so. But, if our case numbers stay as they have been, there is a good chance we will get to visit other people’s homes and have the 5km limit extended to 20km in three weeks’ time. Do I need to wear a mask if I go to do anything? People are being advised to wear a face covering if they are using public transport or shopping, but it is not mandatory. Covering your face is pretty redundant though if you are not adhering to all the other measures. You need to keep washing your hands, because they’ll be close to your face when you put on or remove a face covering. Is a face covering the same as a face mask? The Taoiseach is going out of his way to differentiate between the two. He is afraid that if we all start wearing surgical masks, demand will leave the doctors and nurses without them. Because we aren’t all performing openheart surgery when we pop out to buy a pint of milk

(or a litre if you’re of that persuasion), it is deemed sufficient for us to wear another form of barrier. How long are they advising we wear coverings for? That’s not very clear but it’s interesting to note that Mary Mitchell O’Connor, the Higher Education Minister, has said the use of masks on college campuses next September is something officials are looking at. It might be worth learning how to sew or make your own masks long-term.

How are the numbers? It was a better week. There were roughly 150 new cases every day last week, which is significantly down from where we have been. There was a spike on Thursday because there had been more than 200 cases at the Mater Hospital in March that were only reported for the first time last week. So if the numbers are down, are we getting some kind of immunity? Definitely not. That’s called herd immunity and means 60pc to 80pc of the population would need to have been previously infected or vaccinated to stop the virus spreading as it has been. Experts reckon we are at roughly 6pc. Prof Paul Moynagh, head of the Department of Biology at Maynooth University, said people who have had the virus and recovered can develop antibodies which could potentially shield them from reinfection, although some scientists question the protection. So could we see a second wave if we aren’t careful? That’s very hard to say, but recent signals from the Far East aren’t great. Officials in China were worried about a new small cluster at an apartment block in Wuhan last week, the city where it is believed the virus originated. In Seoul, South Korea, there was a spike after night clubs reopened there. This was traced back to a 29-year-old man who was linked to more than 80 cases by contact tracers. Clearly, people still need to be careful when measures are relaxed.