The Government is expected to announce an extension of the restrictions on work and travel today.

They were due to come to an end on Sunday but the National Public Health Emergency Team is expected to recommend an extension after it meets again today.

Some 263 people in the Republic have now died after contracting COVID-19, while the number of confirmed cases has risen to 6,574.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan at the nightly COVID-19 statement from the National Public Health Emergency team, 09-04-2020. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the team will consider whether the measures should be updated and how long they should be in place.

“We will look at all the other aspects of our readiness which includes a significant step-up from where we are at the moment in relation to the full capacity around the case identification, the testing, the contact tracing that results and the follow up of those contacts,” he said.

“All of that is happening with the greatest of priority to ensure that we are in a position to – when the time is right and not before – recommend a change in the conditions that are currently in place.”

People on the Bray promenade with social distancing measures in force, 27-03-2020. Image: Leon Farrell/RollingNews

Meanwhile the Health Minister said the rate of growth of the virus has slowed significantly in Ireland recently.

Simon Harris said the number of new cases has grown by an average of 9% per cent this week – compared to 33% a month ago.

However, he said not enough progress has been made to lift the lockdown today.

“We are nowhere near yet where we need to be,” he said.

“We are going to need the restrictions, tough and all as they are, to remain in place because, as tough as they are, the alternative is just unbearable.

“The alternative is that we don’t get to save as many lives in this country as we want and the alternative is we see the country go the way others have gone.

“So, we can’t do that and we a re not going to do that.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group at the nightly COVID-19 statement in the Department of Health, Dublin, 30-03-2020. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

The NPHET will base its decisions on data from the State’s Covid-19 modelling group.

The head of the group, Professor Philip Nolan, said we will be socially distancing long after the lockdown is lifted.

“We have done extraordinarily well in getting that reproduction number down,” he said. “We really need to keep that up.”

“First of all, to make sure precisely where we are and secondly, we will be requiring very strong social distancing measures for some very long period of time in order to keep the disease suppressed for the length of time we need.”

He said that if the measures are followed well enough, we should not expect to see any surge in cases.

“We should flatten this curve so much that we are distributing over a long period of time and there is not an identifiable surge of peak within that.”

The NPHET is meeting this morning and is due to make its recommendations later today.