Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he believes the country will see the end of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he believes the country will see the end of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Varadkar said yesterday was a day of hope as people on the island of Ireland and in the UK began to receive a coronavirus vaccine.
He said the combination of vaccines, mass testing and increased knowledge of Covid-19 will work to bring an end to the virus next year.
He said the Government has advance purchase agreements to buy 8 million doses of vaccines for Ireland and the task force will outline an action plan, to include an information campaign, by Friday.
He said that the best way to get people to take the vaccine is to encourage them and answer their questions – not by brow beating or patronising.
The Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, has said it is likely we will see an increase in Covid-19 cases in January, but any potential decision to reimpose restrictions won’t be taken likely | @morningireland | Read more coronavirus coverage: https://t.co/HckouTuvCqpic.twitter.com/yLljet4BaH
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 9, 2020
He said there are elements of an anti vax campaign underway but people should stick to the facts – pointing out that vaccines are safe and effective and have eliminated polio and small pox from Ireland and reduced a range of other diseases.
“We got a taste in 2020 of what the world looked like before we had vaccines,” he said, with tens of thousands of people dying, lockdowns and quarantines and “it was medieval”.
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He said the Government has opted into the European system of travel and is encouraging those who do travel, particularly from a red zone, to follow the rules and public health advice.
The Tánaiste said it is likely an increase in cases will be seen in January but that this is because people are mixing again and the possibility of reintroducing restrictions in the new year has never been ruled out.
He said that people should not concentrate too much on the daily cases and pointed out that hospitalisations and ICU numbers are falling.