MINISTER FOR Health Simon Harris has warned that the next 12 days are crucial with regards to adhering to social distancing measures.
Mr Harris is referring to 5 May, the date to which the effective lockdown was extended following the initial date of April 12.
There are hopes that coronavirus restrictions, while not expected to be lifted completely, might be 'tweaked' on that date-- but that all depends on how people behave in the "here and now".
"These next 12 days or thereabouts, between now and May 5th... there’s lots of speculation about what might happen then, including by people like myself, but we actually need to concentrate on the here and now,” Minister Harris told RTÉ.
He urged people to continue to stay at home and follow the guidelines in place, saying "these next 12 days matter, because the more we can suppress the virus, the more headroom, for want of a better phrase, that we actually give ourselves in terms of options.”
Health Minister Simon Harris (Image: RollingNews.ie)His comments come after an additional 28 deaths and 936 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Republic-- a large rise in reported cases but a much lower toll than in previous days.
The surge in reported cases comes from a large rise in testing in community residential centres, the Department of Health have said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said earlier this week that "complacency is the new enemy" and the biggest risk to Ireland, as with some figures dropping people might be tempted to relax the restrictions.
Minister Harris echoed the sentiment on 19 April, where he said he is "a little worried that some complacency is setting in.
"We have made progress but we're not yet where we need to be. We need to see a fall in new cases.
"Encouraging signs. But please let's not slip up now."
See More: 5 May, Coronavirus, Lockdown
