Ireland has been turned upside down since the beginning of our lockdown in March to prevent Covid-19.
Although we've taken huge steps in reducing the number of people getting the virus, there's still a lot of measures the country has to take to continue on the right path to normality again.
The World Health Organisation is recommending five steps each country should focus on to get things back in order again.
Community effort
Firstly, they want communities to be empowered and reminded that the prevention of the virus is in their hands.
This includes encouraging social distancing, good hand hygiene, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home if you feel symptoms, wearing masks when necessary, and only sharing information from trusted sources. People should be reminded that the choices that they make could have a huge impact on someone else.
Suppressing transmissions
Secondly we should focus on lowering the number of virus transmissions.
This means we should ensure that healthcare workers are given the training they need and PPE.
We should also keep up efforts to be aware of confirmed and possible cases of the virus and quarantine those infected.
Saving lives
Third we should prioritise saving the lives of those infected with the virus by catching cases early and providing proper clinical care to people who need it. Paying particular attention to high-risk groups of people like elderly people and those in long-term care facilities.
Accelerate Research
Fourth, we should accelerate our research efforts.
There has been a lot of progress in research surrounding the virus but there is a lot more to be discovered.
The WHO will hold a second meeting this week to take a look at current research surrounding the virus and decide what to prioritise as we try to move forward.
Political leadership
Lastly, strong political leadership will be essential in making progress combating the virus. The WHO are emphasising the need for national unity and global solidarity to give us the best chances at moving forward.
