At least six months before return to normal life, says Martin

People shopping on Christmas Eve. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

There will be no return to normal life for at least another six months, the Taoiseach has warned.

Micheál Martin has said it will be mid-June before the majority of people are vaccinated against Covid-19 and people can expect some level of restrictions until at least then.

Asked when he expects a return to normality Mr Martin said: "I think the first six months of 2021 will see improvements but we certainly won’t have normality in the first six months as we knew it."

The Taoiseach said vaccine rollout is very much dependent on the type of deals that can be hammered out by the EU with manufacturing companies and pharmaceutical companies.

"The volumes coming through in January and February are relatively low in terms of what would come subsequently, but that’s where we’ll be dealing with nursing home residents and healthcare workers and key workers. But that will make a significant difference in itself.

"If we can immunise and can protect those most vulnerable, that already begins to give us a greater freedom in terms of policy options and decisions we take."

Micheál Martin has said it will be mid-June before the majority of people are vaccinated against Covid-19 and people can expect some level of restrictions until at least then. Picture: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

He added that the manufacturing of vaccines will ramp up from March onwards.

"So I think from the summer on, I think we’ll see a degree of normality returning. But I can’t be definite about that.

"I do believe it will be a tentative return to normality. I think we’ll have to be careful about it," Mr Martin said.

He added that the Government will continue to review and change restrictions and said that in the second wave we did things differently" meaning schools and construction sites stayed open.

"There are areas we’ll look at again on the 12th of January, see where we are in terms of the numbers. But in terms of where we are right now, it’s reasonable to say that some of the restrictions in some of the sectors will be for the longer haul," Mr Martin told reporters.

The warning comes as Cheif Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan confirmed that the new UK variant of Covid-19 is present in Ireland.

1,025 new cases and two further deaths related to the virus were also confirmed.