IRELAND has reached a plateau in terms of the spread of coronavirus, according to experts.
The growth rate of the virus is now "close to zero" as the country continues to weather the storm in the fight against the pandemic.
During the latest briefing from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), it was revealed that the exponential growth in the spread of coronavirus has been stopped, owing to effective lockdown measures which have been in place for over a month now.
"The modelling suggests that we may have reached a plateau," said Professor Philip Nolan, chair of NPHET's epidemiological modelling advisory group.
"We're at a moment of a very delicate balance between suppression of the disease and further outbreak," he added.
Despite the country recording its second highest daily death toll to date from the virus, it appears that spread prevention measures have been working.
Ireland's overall death toll stands at 486, though experts have suggested that without effective lockdown measures, that figure might well be as high as 120,000.
Prof. Nolan went on to stress that what comes after May 5 - the date of the next deadline for an update on lockdown restrictions - needs to be "very imaginatively thought through" and "exceptionally carefully managed".
He added: "We can manage alight spike, but not a large one.
"It would be very easy to have the number [of cases] to jump back in a matter of weeks."
It follows on from this news this morning that Health Minister Simon Harris insisted that lockdown measures will in fact be eased in early May, but that the country should not expect "significant" change in the way they're currently living their lives.
