Ireland plans to run an extensive COVID-19 vaccine campaign amid worries that the coronavirus could resurge during the winter, potentially leading to the reintroduction of mask mandates ''in certain settings,'' Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday. The minister also noted that he expects to get full support for this booster program from the expert committee.
"I'm more concerned about the next wave which will come in the winter, because that will happen when we're indoors more and it might come at the same time as the flu. We haven't really had a serious flu season since 2019," he told national broadcaster RTE, adding that even though he does not think business closure would happen this year, ''nobody can rule that out for sure.''
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has also not ruled out the reimposition of COVID-related restrictions this winter, saying that he believes Ireland has ''moved out of the emergency phase.'' Ireland has registered around 1.6 million cases and 7,467 deaths since the start of the pandemic, with approximately 81% of the population getting two shots and 81.9% receiving only one dose so far.
