An infectious disease expert has said COVID-19 restrictions on outdoor activities like golf could be some of the first to be lifted.
The Government last week extended the national restrictions for a further three weeks in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.
The death toll from the virus in the Republic rose to 406 yesterday after a further 41 patients were confirmed dead.
Meanwhile, there are now 11,479 confirmed cases across the country.
77 reasons to be motivated today and to stick with the plan, #stayhome & save lives #Covid19 https://t.co/R0P70iz515
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 15, 2020
There was also some good news in that there has been an increase in testing – with a total of 90,646 carried out as of midnight on Monday.
Meanwhile the Health Minister Simon Harris said 77 people who were admitted to intensive care with their symptoms have now been released.
On The Pat Kenny Show, Professor Sam McConkey, Head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the RCSI, said restrictions could be lifted on a phased basis in the coming weeks.
“The example I was given yesterday was golf,” he said.
“Most people play golf two metres away from other people because they swing this big club around them and nobody stands close to each other because you get hit with the club.
“So, things like playing golf outside on the golf course is relatively socially distanced by definition.
He said issues with changing rooms and bar and club facilities could be “a bit of a problem” but said insisted that golf is “actually relatively safe.”
“We need to use the information from other countries to see what works safely,” he said.
“We see that in Sweden people are still going to cafés outside with table service. They are spaced out by two metres and they are only allowed to sit at tables with people they are already living with.
“So, it may be that things like outdoor eating and drinking and outdoor life through the summer, with some sort of sensible restrictions of the two metres, could be relaxed.
“We need to learn in Ireland what exactly other countries have done that has turned out to be safe.”
Professor Sam McConkey | Image via @RCSI_Irl on TwitterHe said Ireland’s high level of importation and exportation means closing borders would not work – however, he said anyone coming in to the country should face two weeks quarantine.
“I would re-profile many of the empty hotels in Dublin Airport and say people are welcome to come in, but [they should face] two weeks in essentially mandatory, enforced personal quarantine,” he said.
“There is a piece of work to be done but it is a balanced, nuanced piece of work.
“If every country in the world closed borders and took a nationalised response, we would all fail.
“This is a time for international cooperation, for building bridges with our European neighbours and for joint international responses.”
He said the stats suggest things have actually improved in Ireland even though the improvement is not yet reflected in the daily numbers of new cases.
