The Irish government is aiming to return to Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions at the end of the six week period on the highest stage, Level 5, that will kick in this week, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday.
In order to do so, the government will seek to consistently get the so-called "reproduction rate" that measures the number of people infected by someone who has tested positive below 1, Martin said. The R number currently stands at around 1.4.
"We want to go to Level 3 on Dec. 1. Straight up, that's where the government wants to go. Obviously we want to get below the R1, consistently below that level and we want to see a downward trajectory of cases," Martin told a news conference.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Chris Reese)
