James Cox
An additional 305 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland while there are 49 coronavirus patients in hospital and 16 in ICU.
An announcement regarding the reopening of indoor dining, which had been due to take place on July 5th, is expected to be made on Tuesday, according to Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris, after the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) meet today.
Nphet will consider whether the next stage in the country's easing of restrictions should proceed next Monday, taking into account the incidence of Covid-19, the number of people in hospital with the virus, the progress of the vaccine rollout, and the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant.
Nphet advice
Today's meeting follows much speculation over the weekend that the reopening will be delayed for a number of weeks, however no formal decision will be made until Nphet issue their advice to Government after the meeting, at which time Ministers will decide what next steps will be taken.
A delay to the July 5th date is “not inevitable”, according to Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
Mr Varadkar said a decision will not be made by Government until Tuesday on whether Covid-19 restrictions will be eased further on July 5th as planned.
The Fine Gael leader also said the decision will be made even if it does not receive updated advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) regarding the use of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (J&J - also known as Janssen), vaccines in younger people.
Delta variant
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has brought forward the decision on whether to delay the next stage of reopening due to rising concerns over the Delta variant.
However, Ministers have faced intensifying calls from bar and restaurant owners to urgently provide clarity regarding the reopening as they need to tell staff whether they will be working on July 5th.
Covid in Waterford
A walk-in Covid test centre in Dungarvan has been extended for another two days.
The pop-up facility based in Dungarvan Community Hospital will now open until Wednesday June 30th.
According to the South East HSE, an average of 1500 people attended the centre from Thursday to Saturday.
The centre is will be open tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday from 11am to 7pm.
