‘Pace of virus spread’ key to easing lockdown on May 5 - epidemiologists

Managing the reproduction rate of Covid-19, or how many people are infected by someone with the disease, will be key to whether the national lockdown can be eased at the next deadline date of May 5.

Philip Nolan, chairman of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said that the easing of those restrictions, which have seen the economy grind to a halt and gardaí given draconian powers with which to compel people’s lockdown compliance, will be contingent on the public’s ability to adjust to a new normal of social distancing.