The Health Minister has played down any rift between NPHET and the government over implementing Covid-19 restrictions.
That's despite Tánaiste Leo Varadkar saying the proposals from Dr Tony Holohan were "not thought through".
Every county in Ireland will enter level three restrictions from midnight tonight.
That means that indoor dining will be banned, people can't leave the county they're in and everyone who can should work from home.
Today the government decided to move Ireland to Level 3. I know this will be difficult for many but recent trends are very concerning. This gives us an opportunity to suppress the spread of Covid-19, to prevent a move to Level 5, to save many lives and protect our health service.
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) October 5, 2020
The announcement that the country will move to Level 3 goes directly against NPHET's recommendations to move to level 5.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan has warned that the country could face up to 2,300 cases and 43 Covid-19 hospital admissions a day by next month.
In a letter to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, he says the rate of cases among people over the age of 65 has increased by more than 1,000% in the past two months.
NPHET says implementing Level 5 now is the "only opportunity" to get the disease under control while keeping non-Covid healthcare operating and schools open.
