Maternity hospitals can now begin to ease visitor restrictions says HSE director

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Dr Peter McKenna said families and pregnant women have made “considerable sacrifices” during the pandemic.

According to Dr McKenna, some maternity hospitals have slightly eased restrictions in recent days but there are still tight limits in place.

“I would be asking hospitals to have a close look at their situation and bear in mind the community rate is falling, staff have been vaccinated," MsKenna said.

"And hopefully, they will consider themselves in a position to become more liberal. Each hospital should assess this individually."

However, Dr McKenna is also keen to point out that there is still a risk when it comes to Covid-19, and at the weekend there were three pregnant women in Intensive Care Units with the virus.