Level 5 lockdown until March but restaurants and pubs could stay shut until May

The boarded up windows of Reardon's bar in Washington street, Cork during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The chances of easing Covid-19 level 5 restrictions before the end of February are “really slim” and schools are likely to remain closed for at least another month, Government ministers have admitted.

With the country “nowhere near where it needs to be”, according to Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, another four weeks of the highest level of restrictions are set to be imposed, delivering a further hammer blow to families and business.