Health Minister's Plan To Reopen Schools Could Face Delay

The Cabinet will meet today to consider if Stage 4 of the roadmap for reopening will go ahead as planned next Monday. It will take on board the health advice on the potential impact the full reopening of pubs may have on schools resuming in September.

The number of new cases of Covid-19 in the past week remain high. 46 new infections were recorded yesterday - 85 percent of which were in people under the age of  45.
Minister for Health, Wicklow T.D. Stephen Donnelly has said main focus is getting school pupils back behind their desks by September.
But if the advice today from The National Public Health Emergency Team is that a full return to business of licensed premises risks a spike in cases, the plans for schools reopening could be thrown into doubt.
Opposition politicians argue pubs are being "singled out" unfairly.
Meanwhile the cabinet is also expected to discuss the introduction of random testing for Covid-19 at airports and the possible removal of some countries from the green list, as cases of the virus continue to creep upwards in some countries across Europe.