Government seeking to avoid ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown as ICU crisis looms

Officials already exploring alternatives to December lockdown, with priority being to keep retail open in run-up to Christmas

Key hospitalisation and ICU metrics in the HSE’s Safety Net contract with private hospitals look set to be triggered this week, allowing the HSE to take over 15 per cent of private hospital capacity to deal with the current Covid-19 surge. Picture: Getty

The government is anxiously seeking to avoid a “circuit-breaker” lockdown in the run up to Christmas, as pessimistic projections of Covid-19 cases from public health officials forecast an unprecedented crisis for Irish hospitals in the weeks ahead.

Several government sources said the avoidance of a lockdown scenario was a high priority, but that if cases continued to spike, new restrictions would be needed and a full lockdown could not be ruled out.

Government officials are ...