Maresa Fagan: Are level 5 restrictions crushing Covid-19 three weeks into Lockdown 2.0?

We’re crushing it. That’s what the Covid-19 metrics would suggest but we’re not on the home stretch yet, writes Maresa Fagan

Gardaí operating a checkpoint near Youghal, Co Cork close to the county boundary with Co Waterford as the level 5 restrictions begun last month. Picture: Larry Cummins

We’re halfway into Lockdown 2.0 and all the signs suggest that we’re crushing the Covid-19 curve again. Since moving into level 5 restriction three weeks ago, the national infection rate has almost halved from over 300 cases per 100,000 population to 160 cases per 100,000 population this week.

That downward trend can be seen across the country where Covid-19 hotspots have seen dramatic falls in infection rates, although there is still some way to go, the latest figures suggest.