Restrictions will continue on Kildare, as the number of cases has not substantially reduced

Acting CMO, Ronan Glynn said the restrictions has not been lifted, although there has been a decrease in the number of Covid cases in Kildare.

Although not a definite downfall, he made it clear that Covid cases are declining as expected and the situation will continue to be closely monitored.

A new 93 Covid cases have been registered with the nation, in which seven cases are recorded in County Kildare.

After seeing the fewer covid cases in Kildare, the Chief Executive at County Kildare Chamber, Allan Shine was relieved, but later he was disappointed that the restrictions remained.

The chief executive said the Kildare workers and businesses are in crisis and therefore the existing restrictions on restaurants and pubs should be lifted and they should be encouraged to serve food.

He pointed out that everyone should learn to live with the virus until a vaccine is found to eradicate it.

The NPHET today discussed about the current situation of Kildare regarding the Covid cases and the possibilities of lifting restrictions from the county.

Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly had said that NPHET needs to assess whether it has been able to properly reduce the rate of virus spread before lifting restrictions in the county, or this could lead to a massive increase again.  

There had been a small rise in number of confirmed cases but a less in suspected cases were also reported.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland said the country is at a “delicate point”. But it is still possible to bring under control, he said.

Dr. Emer Shelley urged public to take the situation seriously and to follow the public health guidelines.

“My hope will be if we can get control of the virus we can maintain the current level and bring it right back down,” Dr. Shelley said.

She also pointed out that bringing children back to school is a priority, and schools are a safe environment and the spread of the virus to children in schools is very minimal.  

WHO Special Envoy on Covid-19 David Nabarro said children must be encouraged to adopt the same measures as adults to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. 

Mr. Nabarro said it was agreed that children aged 12 and over should adopt the universal precautions that adults adopt, including wearing a face covering. 

Children aged 6-11 can also transmit the virus but it’s hard to ask them to maintain social distance and wear mask.

He said children below age five excluded from advice as they are not aware about the seriousness of pandemic.