'Travel remains a challenge,' says Dr Holohan as NPHET discusses Covid-19 measures
The Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has said the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is to discuss additional measures regarding travel into and out of Ireland to examine if any changes need to be made to that specific aspect of the coronavirus plan.
There is "very little prospect" of bars and pubs opening in June due to the difficulty in adhering to restrictions necessary to maintain physical distancing, he told RTÉ radio’s Today with Séan O’Rourke show.
The country is doing well, he said. “We’re holding. We’ve managed to suppress the spread of the infection,” but there had been an impact among vulnerable groups and in nursing homes.
There never had been more than 1,000 cases occurring in a single day, he said.
"Travel remains a challenge," he admitted and the recommendation remains that people avoid all non-essential travel both off the island and back into Ireland.
He added that the issue will be discussed today along with compulsory quarantining.
Dr Holohan said advice will be given to the Government subsequent to the Nphet meeting, but he said social distancing will continue to be the "challenge".
When asked about the possibility of a cure before there is a vaccine for Covid-19, Dr Holohan said huge efforts are under way internationally to develop a vaccine and drugs to treat the virus, some of which are showing some promise.
We have not seen any game changers if I might put it that way, in the way we've seen other drugs get rid of viruses like Hepatitis C.
His department is looking at children receiving the 'flu vaccine this autumn, as he said there is a need to "minimise the impact of that infection".
He said: “Flu each year affects people in many of the same vulnerable groups that we have identified now. 'Flu may not have the same severity as Covid-19 but it spreads in the same settings, healthcare settings, nursing homes, schools.
“That is why we hope to bring children into the group which should receive the vaccine.”
Dr Holohan acknowledged that the advice around cocooning has been tough, but said people in these groups must not put themselves at risk.
With respect to nursing homes, Dr Holohan said visitors did not bring the infection into nursing homes. He said when visitor restrictions were introduced, that point was before any clusters of infections were reported.
He was eager to emphasis this point as he knew some people felt guilty that they might have infected loved ones.
He said more than an incubation period had elapsed before the clusters appeared in nursing homes and he stood over the assessment that visitor restrictions were not needed until the point when they were introduced.
With regards to the Leaving Cert examination, Dr Holohan said the Nphet had given advice to the Department of Education around a range of different measures and the time frame around those measures - every three weeks - but the decision around the exams is a matter for the Minister for Education.
Dr Holohan said the Nphet had a job to do, to give the public advice and to ensure that each sector put in place their own plans to deliver services in line with that advice.
He emphasised that it was necessary to leave three weeks between each phase to allow enough time to see if something not predicted in terms of the virus was picked up.
