A top medical expert has warned of spiralling case numbers in Ireland if we return to Level Two at the start of December.
Professor Sam McConkey, an infectious disease specialist from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, warned this morning that Level Three offers the best chance for Ireland to "keep things somehow level" when it comes to the spread of Covid-19.
The Government has promised an update by the end of next week on the plan for exiting Level Five restrictions, with many wondering if we're going to see a return to Level Three or if we can get down to Level Two ahead of the Christmas period.
But public health experts have warned in recent days that case numbers are not as low as they should be given the level of restrictions imposed the country over the last four weeks.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is meeting today to discuss how Ireland safely exit Level Five ahead of the festive period.
And Professor McConkey warned: "If we go down to Level Two, that hasn't controlled things in the past.
"If we can do the same sort of Level Three as we've done in Ireland in the past, then that is a temporary way of keeping things level."
Professor McConkey also cautioned that indoor dining and drinking in pubs "is more risky" than re-opening retail.
He told RTE's Morning Ireland: "Until we get the levels of community transmission down really low, as we did in June, it's hard to see indoor dining – in the busy way that we all enjoyed last year – coming back."
While pubs and restaurants pose a risk – "that's just the nature of the virus at this point," Professor McConkey said – it is possible that retail can open safely for December, according to the infectious diseases expert.
"It is possible to do retail in a socially spaced-out way," he said.
"The toy shops, essentially, could open up. And people wearing masks, staying two metres away from each other, and safe queueing."
