Irish pubs and bars look set to stay shut for the foreseeable future as the government plans for April 5 begin to emerge.
Political leaders are looking to a number of key areas for easing restrictions next month - but the hospitality sector is currently not one of them.
The areas under review at the start of April are the 5km limit, the reopening of construction, outdoor activities including sport and outdoor meetings of more than one other household.
And there was a further blow for the hospitality industry as it emerged top health officials had said that it will be "some time" before vaccination can allow population-level social restrictions to be eased in Ireland.
The grim message came in the newly-released National Public Health Emergency Team minutes, which covered the meeting on February 18.
And in addressing the potential reopening of society, NPHET expressed serious concerns over a further surge in infections, and added that case numbers remained "extremely worrying".
They also said that we would need "significant further improvement" before a "largescale" easing of measures.
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The note reads: "The preliminary modelling presented by the IEMAG suggests that there will be a continuing need for restrictions to suppress transmission until such time as a sufficient proportion of the population is vaccinated to effectively suppress transmission by immunity alone.
"It was further noted that while emerging data shows that vaccines will play a critical role in the management of COVID-19, it is simply too early to predict what the full impact of vaccines will be. Uncertainties and unknowns in relation to variants and vaccine effectiveness and uptake levels were noted.
"A further surge in cases will have a detrimental effect on vaccine rollout and extend the length of time it takes to successfully vaccinate the eligible population.
"At this stage, the vaccine should not be considered a control measure that will allow population-level social restrictions to be released and it could be some time before it can be relied upon in such a way.
"This view is supported by the fact that countries such as Israel, which has one of the highest rates of vaccination, is still exercising a cautious approach to easing restrictions.
"There is a danger that people have become inured to the case numbers. At no previous point in the pandemic would an easing of restrictions have been considered at the weekly case numbers that are currently being recorded.
"Although a great deal of progress has been made, the incidence rates are still extremely worrying, and it is vital that people understand that significant further improvement is required before a largescale easing of measures can be considered."
