Covid-19: Sport and parks reopen as restrictions ease in Ireland

Covid-19 restrictions are being relaxed in the Republic of Ireland from Monday.

The country has been in a strict lockdown since Christmas, with non-essential retail, pubs and restaurants closed.

From Monday, non-contact sports such as golf and tennis can resume, with training sessions in other sports for those under-18 allowed in groups of 15.

Fully vaccinated people will also be allowed indoor visits with one other fully vaccinated household.

Dance classes will be permitted outdoors, while zoos, wildlife parks and heritage centres can reopen - but not amusement parks.

The numbers allowed to attend funerals will increase from 10 to 25.

The country, which is about a month behind Northern Ireland in its vaccination programme, has been in what's been described as the "longest lockdown in the world" and there is pressure to reopen society, particularly from the hospitality sector.

The cabinet will meet later in the week to decide what further relaxations will happen and when.

Barbers and hairdressers are not expected to reopen until the middle of May at the earliest, unlike Northern Ireland where they reopened on 23 April.

It is also likely to be June before hotels, guest houses and B&Bs reopen.

People are still being encouraged to work from home and are restricted to travel only within their own county or 20km (12.5 miles) from their home.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Mícheál Martin promised a major ramping up of the vaccination rollout in April, May and June, with an average of one million people getting a jab each month.

He said subject to promised vaccine supplies arriving, more than 80% of adults should get their first jab by the end of June and 55% their second.

However, as of now, the programme has got nowhere near those targets.

The hope is that the state's National Advisory Immunisation Committee will give its go-ahead for the use of the one-jab Janssen vaccine this week allowing the rollout to be accelerated.

Like AstraZeneca, the Janssen vaccine has been linked to very rare cases of blood clotting.

Those aged between 65 and 69 are due to start getting their first dose of AstraZeneca this week.

As more people get vaccinated and the numbers in hospitals and ICUs fall, the very tough restrictions will continue to ease.

With foreign travel strongly discouraged, many will be hoping society will be sufficiently reopened to allow them to enjoy a summer staycation.