Government ministers met for crunch talks on Monday night to discuss the latest recommendations from NPHET.
A decision is set to be made on the return of indoor pubs and restaurants which had originally been earmarked for July 5.
However that date has been thrown into major doubt due to the threat posed by the Delta variant in the coming weeks.
NPHET experts issued advice to minister last night which will guide their decision.
Tanáiste Leo Varadkar has said it is “not inevitable” that the planned reopening of pubs and restaurants will be delayed beyond July 5.
However Mr Varadkar has said "it would be unlikely" that Cabinet will go against recommendations made by NPHET, adding "it would be very difficult to do."
Here's what to expect from Tuesday's announcement
Indoor dining and drinking
While pubs and restaurants have been permitted to serve food and drink outdoors the government has faced increased pressure to allow the return of indoor service.
However the threat of a major spike in cases due to the more transmissible Delta variant means that this could be pushed further down the line.
Medical experts presented an analysis to senior ministers that showed there could be thousands of cases a day by August if we proceed with a widespread reopening.
This is meant to start with the return of service inside pubs and restaurants from next Monday.
But the dire prospect shown by NPHET means Government ministers will this morning battle to save the summer for hospitality while respecting the “serious” NPHET warnings about the Delta variant.
The medical experts delivered their grim assessment which warns of a rapid escalation in cases as Delta becomes dominant.
And in light of this they are urging restraint in the plan to reopen society further, which was supposed to proceed with the return of indoor eating and drinking from next Monday.
However, the reopening is not cancelled yet, with Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, telling the Irish Mirror last night it is still on the table at today’s Cabinet meeting.
He said: “The initial analysis by NPHET of the potential impact of the Delta variant in terms of the number of cases, hospitalisations, has to be taken very seriously.
“It gives us an additional impetus to do everything we can to get everybody vaccinated.
Mr Donnelly added: “I prefer not to say exactly what will happen in terms of July 5th because it’s a conversation that has to be had at Cabinet.
“But certainly it is serious.
Last night senior Government ministers were discussing a “compromise” reopening of bars and restaurants indoors from next Monday.
The proposal, which will also be discussed at Tuesday morning's crunch Cabinet meeting, would see extra restrictions introduced for indoor dining.
This would include less customer capacity and tables further apart indoors.
And it would be accompanied by a new public health message urging people who have not been vaccinated not to eat or drink indoors for the time being.
One senior Government source told the Irish Mirror that this would be a “soft version” of the idea mooted briefly that only vaccinated people would be allowed avail of indoor dining.
However, this was discounted as impractical and impossible to police as there is no widely used vaccine certs or documentation.
The chances of the compromise getting through were described as “50/50” by a senior source last night, but they added that there was “a big push” to get some sort of reopening.
The option to extend the indoor closure for another few weeks is still firmly on the table this morning, but Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, yesterday said it is “not inevitable.”
The Cabinet’s Covid subcommittee will sit late into the night as they digest the latest advice from the medical experts at NPHET.
It is likely that they will accept the thrust of NPHET’s recommendations.
But there is also serious pressure coming from business and wider society to reopen.
Changes to vaccine rollout
Younger people aged between 18 and 40 years can be given the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines under new recommendations from NIAC to the government.
The State’s vaccine advisory body has also said the interval between first and second doses can be cut to four weeks, senior government sources have confirmed.
Hundreds of thousands of people waiting on their second vaccine can now expect to be fully vaccinated sooner.
These are mainly people aged between 60-69 and vulnerable people in cohort four of the State’s vaccination programme.
While younger people can also be expected to get their vaccine sooner if the government adopts NIAC’s advice, which is likely.
The gap between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca jab was initially 12 weeks cut to eight weeks and now it’s likely people waiting on their second shot could get it sooner once the government adopts the new four week gap advice.
A source said NIAC’s recommendation “is very welcome” as it will “help to get ahead of the Delta variant.”
They added that the government has been “anxious” that thousands of people aged 60 and over as well as those who are vulnerable, are still waiting on their second vaccine dose while the Delta variant is “looming.”
Hundreds of thousands of both vaccines are due into the country later in the summer but risked being left on the shelf due to the limitations of their use prior to NIAC’s updated guidance.
Speaking on Monday Tanáiste Leo Varadkar said this would have been “unfortunate” and if NIAC made the decision to allow younger people get the jabs once verified by medical and scientific data, then “if the Delta wave is coming, that makes sense to me.”
He added that the advantage of being able to use these vaccines which are being used widely in other countries would allow “more people to be protected more quickly.”
The HSE will now examine how it can adapt the vaccine programme to meet this recommendation.
CEO of the HSE, Paul Reid said yesterday (MONDAY) that the highest level of vaccinations to date was reached last week with almost 350,000 jabs administered of which nearly 110,000 were second doses of AstraZeneca.
