Only Total Lockdown Will Stop Surge Of Covid-19

..but we’ll not do that, says Donnelly

- Ciara Phelan

A FULL level five lockdown would be the only effective way to suppress the surge of Covid-19, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has told opposition TDs.

But the Government is not going to introduce such restrictions and public health advice has not changed, according to Mr. Donnelly.

He told opposition party health spokespeople that the BA.2 variant is so transmissible that the only possible way of containing the disease would be to move to a full lockdown.

A spokesman for the Taoiseach said last night that the Government will keep everything including restrictions “under review”.

However, Cabinet did not discuss the surge yesterday.

Sinn Fein’s health spokesman David Cullinane told reporters: “I spoke to Stephen Donnelly last night to get a briefing from him on where things are and what’s being said to him by the CMO and the public health experts.

“He said the advice would be that the only way if you were to look at trying to suppress the disease because of its transmissibility, you would have to go for a full level five lockdown and there is no justification for it.