HOLOHAN: NO ‘FULL LOCKDOWN’ IF THERE IS A SECOND WAVE OF VIRUS

DIFFERENT measures will be taken in the event of a second surge in coronavirus cases, rather than the implementation of a full lockdown, Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer has said.

Dr Tony Holohan said the country knows a lot more about Covid-19 than it did in March when lockdown measures and restrictions were first introduced.

He said if there was a second wave or resurgence of Covid-19, the same measures would not need to be taken.

‘I wouldn’t be anticipating at this point in time that we would be moving back to blanket closures in the way we did in March,’ he said. ‘What we will be doing over the next couple of weeks is meeting with NPHET (the National Public Health Emergency Team) and looking at a scenario where we have a resurgence of the disease, what measures we will take or what would be appropriate,’ Dr Holohan told RTÉ radio. ‘If a resurgence of the disease happened or a second wave, we would know what specific measures to take, having done our work proactively.

‘The population’s behaviour is very different now than it was in March, and people understand more about the disease and the risks and how they can protect themselves when it comes to hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.’

However, he said the message on wearing face coverings is not being heeded by much of the public.

He said masks should be used on public transport and in shops and added that a new national campaign is being rolled out on the wearing of face coverings.

‘The message hasn’t fully gotten through... We’d like to see a higher level of compliance where social distancing can’t be maintained,’ Dr Holohan said.