Roadmap for exiting lockdown due in coming weeks

The Tánaiste hopes to publish legislation on quarantine hotels in Ireland next week.

Senior members of Government say they are working on a revised version of the 'Living with Covid-19' plan, details of which are expected to be announced in the fortnight.

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he cannot give clarity or certainty regarding the reopening of specific sectors of the economy because the virus is unpredictable.

Refusing to be drawn on when professional services such as hairdressing would reopen, he did state that retail would begin a phased reopening across April, May and June.

He also gave cautious optimism that there will be a domestic tourism season this summer. In part, this will be down to tightening up on international travel to reduce the risk of virus spread.

The Tánaiste hopes to meanwhile publish legislation on quarantine hotels in Ireland next week.

Near neighbour Britain has already opted to introduce tighter border controls from next week in a bid to curb new variants of the coronavirus spreading.

Travellers found to have given false information about being in a 'red list' country 10 days before travel could receive up to 10 years in prison.

Mr Varadkar suggested the imposition of potential jail term in Ireland as “extreme”.

This morning Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government would bring “greater clarity” on reopening when speaking to Cabinet.

Schools, he noted, will remain a priority. While the number of Covid-19 infections decreasing, he said those figures need to be even lower in order for other essential sectors, such as construction to reopen.

Director General of the Construction Industry Federation Tom Parlon has urged the government to reconsider, does not agree that work sites should not reopen fully by March 8.

Also speaking on Morning Ireland, he said 40% of construction has remained open throughout the latest lockdown. Over that period there had been fewer than 20 cases of Covid-19 reported.

Mr Parlon said this was comprehensive proof that construction can operate safely during the pandemic.

The HSE finally has said it has implemented a recommendation from NPHET on the resumption of twice testing for all close contacts of a confirmed case.

The measure will see close contacts tested on day zero and day ten after their last exposure to the case.

The recommendation was delivered to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly in a letter from Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, dated February 4 and published today.

Under the resumed testing, the test for close contacts had been performed on day five, with close contacts required to restrict their movements for 14 days.