Nphet satisfied with accelerated easing of Covid-19 restrictions

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group. File Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

The Chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group has said he is not overly concerned about the Government’s new accelerated timeline for reopening the country.

Professor Philip Nolan said he believes the Government’s approach to reopening is a cautious one, and that now was the right time to begin to ease restrictions.

"I think there are two reasons why we need to relax these restrictions now,” he said.

"The first is the length of time that we’ve had to endure really restrictive public health measures. It’s 61 weeks since our first case, it’s 18 weeks since we entered level 5.

We crave social contact, we need to buy the essentials, we do need to move on at this point. 

Prof Nolan said the country was now at a point in the pandemic wherein certain “low-risk” but important things like shopping in smaller groups and getting together with people outdoors could be done in a relatively safe way, given the ongoing rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.

“A slow incremental, careful reopening society is appropriate at this time,” he told Newstalk.

The easing of a host of restrictions on May 10 will see inter-county travel return, hairdressers and barbers reopen, and the phased reopening of retail commence.

The Maynooth University President said the current reopening plan was a more cautious one than the plan introduced last summer.

However, he also warned that there may be “bumps in the road” where health officials may find "something is less safe than we thought."

"I really feel we can do this. I really feel we can get through the next four to eight weeks safely so long as we as individuals keep contacts modest," he said.

Prof Nolan said that most people had adhered to public health guidelines throughout the pandemic, and he believed they would continue to do so.

Weddings

On the topic of weddings, Prof Nolan said that, in spite of the progress made with vaccinations, the current Covid-19 situation meant it was still “too high risk” for people to attend large indoor gatherings.

From May 10, the number of people permitted to attend a wedding ceremony will increase to 50.

However, only six people will be allowed to gather indoors for post-wedding celebrations afterwards. Fifteen people will be able to attend such an event outdoors.

Prof Nolan said health officials wanted to support people for major events like getting married or to mourn someone’s passing.

"The concern is the events on the periphery of that - it’s the social get-together, which we absolutely realise how important is to people," he said. 

"Our difficulty is that we’ve seen too many cases and sadly deaths associated not with the formal central ceremony, but with the social get-togethers afterwards.

"It’s just not safe to do that right now," he added.