Ireland is braced for another big lockdown decision in the coming hours as government leaders meet to decide our next steps.
The current Level Five restrictions are set to end on April 5.
NPHET will meet this morning to discuss their recommendation to government, and then our most influential politicians will convene to make a final decision.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin will address the nation tomorrow with a roadmap for the coming weeks and months, and we have been given some indication of what is coming next.
It is expected he will announce small tweaks to the Path Ahead Covid restrictions plan on Tuesday.
As well as the 5km travel limit being expanded and increasing the numbers that can meet together outdoors, construction, children's training and adult non-contact sports are the other three changes being looked at.
And the Taoiseach is expected to outline a longer-term strategy for the wider reopening of society in his State of the Nation address - but without any dates.
The plan for further lockdown easing in May and June will include the return of outdoor dining for the hospitality sector.
However the haircuts and pints will have to wait as personal services and hospitality are firmly “off the table” for tomorrow’s Cabinet discussion on easing restrictions, a Government source said.
But getting people back outdoors “needs to happen” according to one senior Cabinet source and this is what the Government will want to prioritise.
Unfortunately, with the Covid figures still remaining stubbornly high, ministers are waiting with bated breath to see what NPHET will recommend after their crunch meeting to review restrictions today.
The travel limit lift will get the go-ahead no matter what NPHET says, partly because so many people are ignoring it anyway.
Speaking frankly, one Minister told the Irish Mirror: “The 5km limit will be lifted because, let’s be honest, it’s easy to do because nobody was minding it anyway.”
When pressed he added that an extension to 10km would be “easily” passed at Cabinet.
The same rationale applies to increasing the outdoor gatherings rule that currently allows for you to meet with people from just one other household. It will be at least doubled.
All pupils will go back to school after the Easter holidays on April 12.
Things become trickier when it comes to construction, getting children back at outdoor sports training and opening golf courses and tennis courts for adults.
These are still all undecided as of this morning. Politically, the Government wants to get construction back up and running as house completion targets go out the window for the year if builders aren’t back on the job.
