Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has confirmed that the country seems to be "fatigued" when it comes to the Level 5 Lockdown and has issued a two-word update on the possibility of an extension.
We are now well into the fourth week of the toughest and strictest restrictions this country has ever seen with rumours circulating about Ireland not exiting the lockdown on December 1.
Speaking on RTE News last night, Minister Donnelly confirmed that the Government had "no appetite" to extend Level 5 restrictions.
But despite this certainty, he could not confirm for sure if Ireland would exit "no matter what" the situation was at the start of December.
He said: "There is no appetite to not exit Level 5 in two weeks.
"The next two weeks matter so much. I don’t think with COVID, the Irish Government or any Government anywhere can say 'no matter what' on anything.
"We are largely on course — The first three weeks were really good. The R number for last week was down to 0.6.
"People have made huge sacrifices. They have really got on board with Level 5 and it has worked.
"What I’m saying is and what public health doctors are saying is, over the last week, it is clear that people have become fatigued.
"Gathering in large groups to drink outside is one symptom of that. We’re seeing more traffic on the roads."
He continued: "Six weeks is a long period of time for Level 5 measures. There has been an easing off over the last week.
"Over the next two weeks, we’ve got to double down because we want to open up as much as possible for December."
