No return to mandatory mask-wearing, says Leo Varadkar

The Tánaiste said: "The current advice from the Chief Medical Officer is that we don't need to extend the mask mandate that we continue to encourage in healthcare settings and obviously on public transport."

A return to mandatory mask-wearing is not considered necessary at this time, despite the summer wave of Covid-19, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said.

The remarks come as senior HSE officials have raised concern about the number of Covid-19 cases, with HSE chief Paul Reid and Dr Colm Henry, HSE chief clinical officer, raising the possibility of a return to mandatory mask-wearing on public transport.