The Tanaiste says he expects further Covid-19 restrictions to be recommended by NPHET due to the Omicron variant.
The new strain now accounts for 14 percent of cases - up from one percent last week, and Leo Varadkar says he expects it to become dominant by next week.
NPHET's due to meet tomorrow morning to consider the current Omicron situation.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar says public health measures and an accelerated booster programme won't be enough to tackle the new variant:
He went on to say the benefit of restrictions on international travel are minimal at the moment as the Omicron variant is already here
— Seán Defoe (@SeanDefoe) December 15, 2021
"I would expect on Thursday there to be recommendations on the management of close contacts, some recommendations designed to decrease the number of social mixing," said Leo Varadkar.
