With Ireland currently in Level Five lockdown until April 5, the current indications are that restrictions will be extended into May and beyond.
However, the recent spell of good weather has led to a renewed sense of optimism and hope that a decent summer with pubs, restaurants, and the hospitality sector reopening isn't beyond the realms of possibility.
At present, the government has consistently said that any reopening of the country will be done in a cautious and careful manner, with factors like the rate of cases, vaccine progress, and new variants at the forefront of any thinking about reopening.
With that being said, some measures, such as an extension of the 5km rule and the return of click and collect services, could resume next month.
On that note, here's the latest on:
What's the situation with pubs?
Irish pubs are unlikely to reopen for at least two months as Leo Varadkar issued a lockdown message to the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party.
The Tanaiste said that with the exception of very few measures, there would be “no further easing of restrictions will be considered until the end of April or early May.”
And the closure of hospitality, including restaurants, pubs and bars, is not expected to be one of the restrictions that will be eased any time soon.
At present, Ireland is in Level Five, but if we move to Level Four, restaurants and cafes will be able to open for take-away, delivery and outdoor dining for an "absolute maximum" of 15 people.
However even under Level Four, pubs will not re-open to how we knew them before the pandemic, and nightclubs, discos and casinos will also remain closed.
The Taoiseach has also dampened any speculative talk that pubs could be opening soon.
Speaking on RTE’s Raidio na Gaeltachta a few weeks ago, Mr Martin said Covid-19 numbers are far too high and the Government and public health officials are still concerned about variants.
He said: “While I am happy that we are making progress with the vaccination programme, any easing of the restrictions has to be slow and cautious because of the threat from new variants of the disease.
“These variants are our biggest concern for managing the disease in the immediate future. What the public health authorities are saying is that we stick with this until end of April, then we reflect on the situation and make decisions about the months ahead.”
In a separate interview on the issue of reopening, Mr Martin said a “critical mass of the population” will need to be vaccinated before restrictions can ease.
In recent weeks, despite administering over 500,000 vaccine doses, Ireland has struggled with vaccine supplies and mixed messaging on the issue.
What hope is there?
During an interview on Ireland Am, Leo Varadkar said Ireland will be looking to Israel to assess the viability of using "vaccine certificates" at pubs, bars and other amenities.
The Fine Gael leader explained that the country is allowing vaccinated people to carry a "green badge" to access establishments like theatres and cinemas.
Mr Varadkar said that by June, the Government will be looking to Israel to see "whether that worked or not".
He told Ireland AM: "I wouldn’t use the word passport because people automatically associate the word passport with foreign travel.
"But we are going to give everyone a vaccine certificate. It will be a standard European form."
He added: "Israel, which is the country that is furthest ahead of everyone in terms of vaccination now, has a thing called the green badge.
"And if you have got the green badge, which means you’ve got the vaccines, you can go into certain establishments. You can go to theatres, cinemas, I think bars. You don’t have to restrict your movements if you’re a close contact.
"Let’s see how they get on and we’ll have a better idea by the middle of the year, by June, as to whether that worked or not
Which counties are in Covid trouble?
In terms of Ireland's latest 14-day epidemiology report, Longford (403.7) has the highest incidence per 100,000 population.
As for the other counties that are showing worrying figures, Offaly (330.9), Westmeath (243.3), Dublin (235.3) and Meath (212.8) complete the top five.
It's no surprise that with 3,170 new cases in that period, Dublin has the highest number of confirmed new cases, representative of the capital's much larger population.
The data was gathered from February 23 up to midnight on March 8.
