Dr. Tony Holohan:

In principle, the answer is "Yes". Many of the measures that are and have been important in limiting the transmission of Covid will continue to be important measures either for us to recommend or for individuals to decide to take on for themselves. The benefit of some of the measures - the Senator identified some of them - is not going to be just in terms of transmission of Covid; it may also have benefits in terms of transmission of a range of respiratory viral infections and possibly other viral infections. I refer to the basic point on hand washing. It is one of the things that has been emphasised in the context of Covid, but it has benefits in terms of transmission of other respiratory viral infections. It also has benefits in the context of transmission of gastroenteritis of one kind or another, as well as food-borne illnesses and so on. To the extent that we can all up our game, so to speak, as individuals and keep our hands washed in all circumstances, that is a general benefit in terms of transmission.

Mask wearing is something people will choose to do. I expect and hope there will be a good level of understanding in the population that even if we move away from recommending the continued use of masks as a regulatory measure in defined circumstances, it will still be a sensible choice for individuals if they are out and about, such as in the circumstances referred to by the Senator, where there may be a predominance of elderly people in close contact. It might make sense for those individuals to wear a mask, particularly at times when there is a very prevalent level of infection from a respiratory viral infection such as flu or Covid. At those times, we may recommend that it is a good time for people in a vulnerable situation to choose to wear a mask when in close contact. If you know you will not be able to maintain social distance, particularly in an indoor environment, and you are vulnerable, wearing a mask in those situations will continue to be sensible because it will protect you from many things other than just flu, particularly, perhaps, in winter. These kinds of sensible behaviours will be dialled in to the culture and what we expect to see.

In the context of masks, it is important to point out that at the moment anybody who is a case between days 7 and 10 can resume their activities if they are symptom-free so long as they wear a higher grade mask. One can expect to see people out and about wearing masks who have been cases. People who are boosted close contacts will no longer have to restrict their movements. There will continue to be advice on mask wearing in particular situations but we expect many people to appropriately choose to wear a mask as a way of protecting themselves into the future. Those are basic lessons - I think the public has learned them as well as we have - on measures that can help in terms of population transmission of many common viral infections.