How we got to where we are: The moves that lead us to Level 5

Eddie Mullins, Managing Director of Fitzgerald Menswear in Patrick Street bringing down the shutters of his premises as Level 5 lockdown comes into force. Picture: Howard Crowdy

The decision to move the country from level 3 lockdown up to a very strict level 5 for six whole weeks has come as a serious shock to businesses. Just two weeks after the Government had rejected the idea from Nphet, they did a u-turn that caused serious upset right across the country. 

They did not make this decision lightly. How we got to this point is worth exploring, write Daniel McConnell and Paul Hosford