Schools are "absolutely on track" to reopen in September.
That's according to the Acting Chief Medical Officer, who says the latest data gives reason to be optimistic, while still uncertain, about the spread of Covid-19.
Seven new cases have been confirmed this evening, while Nine deaths have been noted.
That was the most positive Covid briefing I think I’ve been at in the past few months. Schools absolutely on track to reopen in September. R rate coming down. A cautious but optimistic mood among NPHET. Let’s keep going 💪
— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) July 23, 2020
8 of those deaths were late notifications from previous months.
Meanwhile, the reproduction rate of the virus is now estimated to be somewhere between 1 and 1.4. That's down from a figure of between 1.4 and 1.8 last week.
Acting CMO Dr. Ronan Glynn says it's looking positive for children returning to education:
"We have 3 priorities, we want to get our healthcare services back up and running to the greatest extent possible, we need to protect the most vulnerable in society, and we need to get our children back to school.
All of our efforts need to be focused on those 3 aims.
As things stand we are absolutely on track for children to go back to school in September."
