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Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has reassured the nation that coronavirus case numbers were forced down before \u2013 and can be again.<\/p>\nTaoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has reassured the nation that coronavirus case numbers were forced down before \u2013 and can be again.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin was speaking as Dublin enters three weeks of tighter restrictions designed to combat a surge in cases.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn warned that the coronavirus situation had \u201cdeteriorated nationally\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said 50 per cent of Thursday\u2019s cases were in Dublin.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, 274 new cases of the virus were confirmed in the previous 24-hour reporting period by the National Public Health Emergency Team, of which 166 were in Dublin.<\/p>\n
From midnight on Friday non-essential travel is being discouraged to and from the capital, visits to private homes have been capped at six people from one household and indoor dining at eateries has been stopped.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin revealed he is worried about the situation in Dublin, describing numbers as rising \u201cexponentially\u201d.<\/p>\n
He has urged the public to abide by the new rules, adding that recent regional lockdowns in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly worked.<\/p>\n
Dublin has been placed at risk Level 3 of the Government\u2019s blueprint plan to deal with the virus, while the rest of the country remains at Level 2.<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach said Level 3 is \u201cnot a lockdown\u201d and is \u201cnowhere near the lockdown we had\u201d, with retail, education and construction still open and people not restricted to a five kilometer limit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one sector that is taking a terrible hit and that is hospitality, tourism, travel and aviation,\u201d he told RT\u00c9.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat whole area is the one most impacted, not just here but across the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo government is going to stop the virus on its own, it\u2019s a collective effort, and it is a very dangerous virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a one in a 100 year event. It\u2019s affecting how we do things, it\u2019s upending all our lives, how we behave. We don\u2019t shake hands any more. Who would have thought a year ago we would be doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martin said Ireland was in a \u201cbetter place than most\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cScotland were on to Ireland last week, we helped them out with lab capacity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is deep trouble in the United Kingdom, there\u2019s huge pressure globally on the testing kits. We\u2019re up to 15,000 capacity a day, we have done a lot of testing in nursing homes and in meat plants, and so far the positivity rate is very low.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Mr Martin conceded the coalition government had taken too long to be formed earlier this year following the inconclusive general election result.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that period went on too long \u2026 it was difficult and challenging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole policy formulation, negotiating a program for government, Covid itself in terms of social distancing and how long you could meet for, and then the interim government had to deal with Covid.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described his relationship with tripartite coalition partners, Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, positively.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get on very well on a personal level, and with Eamon Ryan the three of us, we have a great facility to pick up the phone if we think there is something wrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo interrogates issues and will give different perspectives on issues and he\u2019ll weigh it up in his own mind and speak this out \u2013 which I think is a healthy thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn politics there is a lot of noise going on around the bubble, I tend to focus on the substance of the policy and I want to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n