The Ministry of Health has introduced a four-milestone plan and a rough timeline for relieving domestic restrictions due to COVID-19 as vaccinations progress. According to the plan, all domestic restrictions will be lifted in late June when about 75% of the nation is scheduled to have received at least one injection of the vaccine.
The plan is in four steps and is tied to vaccination progress. The plan is conditional upon the Chief Epidemiologist’s assessment of the status of the pandemic at any given moment. The plan is now up on the Government’s Consultation Portal, open for comments until May 4.
Milestone 1 – The first step towards lifting restrictions has already taken place when gathering limits and school regulations were relaxed on April 15.
Milestone 2 – Scheduled for early may is when at least 35% of the population will be vaccinated. The plan is to relax gathering limits to somewhere between 20 and 200. Also scheduled are more relaxed regulations on exemptions from proximity regulations and gathering limits for certain operations.
Milestone 3 – Late May – Once 50% of the population will have the first shot of the vaccine, proximity regulations will dictate a social distance of 1 metre and gathering limits will be further relaxed to somewhere between 100-1000 people.
Milestone 4 – Late June – all restrictions lifted. The government assumes all domestic restrictions can be lifted in late June. Vaccination schedules suggest 75% of the population will have received at least one injection of the vaccine at that time.
The plan for lifting restrictions is contingent upon vaccine shipment schedules and the Directorate of Health’s vaccination schedule.
