'No fourth lockdown': Ireland to set out cautious reopening plan

FILE PHOTO: A woman carries a duvet and blanket past a health food store, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Dalkey, Ireland February 22, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will set out a broad and gradual plan to reopen its economy on Tuesday to ensure there is no fourth lockdown, a minister said, as the more infectious UK COVID-19 variant slows suppression of its deadliest wave to date.

Ireland has been back in lockdown since late December after a brief reopening led to an enormous spike in infections. Some students will return to school next week but no consideration will be given to re-opening the hospitality sector before mid-summer, Prime Minister Micheál Martin said last week.