The government has today agreed that the current public health restrictions will remain in place until 5 March 2021. While we have seen a welcome decrease in the numbers of cases in recent days, the overall numbers and, significantly, the numbers in hospital and ICU with COVID-19 are at their highest since the start of the pandemic. For this reason, we must continue efforts to get the virus under control by limiting congregation, mobility and social contacts as much as possible.
Maintaining Level 5 restrictions will place continued demands on society and business, however, it is essential that we continue to hold firm and reduce the cases in order to protect the vulnerable, protect our health care services (including maintaining non-COVID healthcare) and reopen schools at the earliest opportunity. The Minister for Education will continue to work with stakeholders to agree a plan for a phased return to in-school provision, commencing with children with special educational needs.
