The National Public Health Emergency Team is due to meet in the morning to finalise recommendations in relation to the possible easing of public health restrictions set to be announced by the Government on Tuesday.
The meeting comes amid concern that the number of new cases is increasing. The five-day average of cases stands at 620 while the number of new cases has been over 600 for five of the past six days.
NPHET sources are more cautious about the underlying trends than they were even at their briefing last Thursday.
There will be a reluctance to recommend anything other than the bare minimum in terms of the easing of restrictions, despite a recognition that people are extremely frustrated with the current lockdown.
The focus of the recommendations is likely to be on what can safely be done outdoors. Public health officials do not want people to visit each other's houses and they do not want people travelling to other counties, particularly where they may be travelling from counties with a high incidence of the disease to those with a low incidence.
The increased transmissibility of the dominant B117 variant, as well as the case numbers remaining at a persistently high rate, means it will be difficult for NPHET or for politicians to provide people with a more specific roadmap about when exactly further restrictions may be eased after 5 April.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney earlier said there is a very narrow scope for lifting restrictions and the Government approach will be cautious.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Mr Coveney said the Government wants to avoid a fourth wave of the virus and not see a situation where restrictions are eased but then have to be reintroduced.
He said that National Public Health Emergency Team will make a recommendation to the Government tomorrow, which will be considered by the Cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19, which will then make recommendations to the full Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
"We don't have that NPHET recommendation yet, but I don't think it is any secret that NPHET and indeed the Government recognise that the people need some room to breathe here," he said.
"I would expect, but I can't be sure, that we would be looking at the 5km restriction, that we'd be looking at outdoor activity, that we will certainly want to facilitate completing the full return to school for children after 5 April," he said.
Mr Coveney said the Government would like to allow further construction activity if it can be done safely and all that all decisions will be led by public health guidance.
He said that by mid-July the "vast majority" of people who want to be vaccinated will be.
Mr Coveney said he understands that it is frustrating for people who want to move around more and reopen business, but with progress on case numbers not happening over the last ten days, the Government is keen to avoid reopening and then re-imposing restrictions again.
Earlier, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said the Government is expected to be in a position to extend the current 5km limit after Easter.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, she added that the Government will also look to extend outdoor meetings beyond one household and ease restrictions on sports and construction.
Minister @cathmartingreen says Gov will expect to extend 5km limit, outdoor meetings beyond one household and easing restrictions on sporting activities and construction. #rtetwip #covid19ireland #rtepolitics pic.twitter.com/U1jxNmzzwx
— The Week in Politics (@rtetwip) March 28, 2021
