SOCIAL DISTANCING MAY BE HERE FOR YEARS: HOLOHAN

SOCIAL distancing in Ireland could be a reality for years to come, the Chief Medical Officer has warned.

Dr Tony Holohan told the daily Covid-19 media briefing that he was hopeful the downward trajectory of the disease would enable Ireland to move through the remaining four phases of its lockdown exit plan.

But he stressed that without the emergence of a vaccine, social distancing would have to remain for the foreseeable future.

‘We hope and anticipate that if we keep the level of suppression up that we’d be in a position to move through those phases and to increase our advice around social, economic, educational and other measures,’ he said.

‘It’s probably fair to say – given that we can’t say with certainty that there will be a vaccine and can’t make predictions or projections as to what the immunity resulting either from infection or from any proposed vaccine might actually be and how long that lasts – it could well be the case that we’re living with this virus and adapting to its presence for a long period of time to come.

‘Which is why that statement is correct that it could last years. Nobody’s in a position to put a finite period of time, nobody the world over, around when this will be at an end.’

At the briefing it was also revealed that 16 more Covid-19 patients have died here – bringing the total number of deaths here to 1,561 since the outbreak of the pandemic.

There were also 51 new cases identified – the fourth day in a row that the number of new cases in Ireland was less than 100.

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 here now stands at 24,251.

Many of the latest cases had occurred in specific settings – either care facilities or occupational settings such as meat factories – rather than the community at large.