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Huge traffic jams were reported on Wednesday as Gardaí set up checkpoints across the country to enforce tighter coronavirus restrictions to stop the new spread of the virus in Ireland.
The new Level 3 restrictions went into effect across the Republic at midnight, with hundreds of Garda checkpoints installed and a warning of even stricter restrictions on cards.
More than 2,500 Garda members have been deployed as part of increased police surveillance across the Republic, and heavy traffic congestion is anticipated due to the impact of so-called super checkpoints. Operation Fanacht involves 132 large-scale checkpoints per day on the country’s main arterial routes, in addition to thousands of mobile checkpoints on secondary routes in cities and towns per week.
Gardaí has no law enforcement powers, but hopes to persuade people not to take non-essential travel outside of their own county.
The impact of the operation was seen immediately on Wednesday morning. There were queues going up five miles on the M4 / N4 westbound out of Dublin from junction two, Kingswood, to junction five, Athgoe.
At one point, traffic stopped from junction four in Newcastle to junction six in Celbridge. There were also reports of very heavy traffic on the N2 towards Dublin and on the M50 southbound at Co Wicklow.
In announcing the measures Tuesday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris warned that traffic would be heavy in and around Dublin. They hoped the delays would be so long that they would discourage people from leaving their home county and encourage them to work from home.
He said the checkpoints would see traffic channeled into a single lane on highways and other arterial routes across the country. This would mean that it would “be very difficult” for anyone taking road trips during Operation Fanacht for the next three weeks.
Three weeks
The government decided on Monday that all counties will join Donegal and Dublin on Tier 3 of the five-tier Living with Covid strategy for the next three weeks through Oct. 27.
A Garda checkpoint on the N11 on Wednesday. Photograph: An Garda Síochána / Twitter
Level 3 means tighter controls over daily life as numbers of contracting the virus and needing hospitalization increase.
Nphet reported another 432 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday night. This brings the total number of cases of the disease in the Republic to 38,973. Nphet reported one more death, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,811. According to the HSE on Tuesday night there were 142 confirmed cases of people with coronavirus in Irish hospitals, almost three times the figure from a month ago. A total of 24 people were in the ICU with coronavirus last night, up from six a month ago.
At Level 3, people are asked to remain within their county unless they have to travel for work, educational, or other essential purposes. Home visits are restricted to a maximum of six people from another household, while weddings and funerals are limited to 25 people. Pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars serving food may remain open for takeaway, delivery and outdoor meals / services up to a maximum of 15 people. Dublin’s wet pubs are closed. Nightclubs, discos and casinos remain closed on Level 3.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar warned at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on Tuesday night that a brief lockdown may still occur despite the government this week rejecting the advice of the National Public Health Emergencies Team (Nphet) to move to the Level 5.
Mr. Varadkar went on to say that the council had not been “thoughtful” and criticized Nphet after the news emerged Sunday night without prior consultation with the government.
However, sources present at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on Tuesday night said that Varadkar warned that a switch closure may still be on the horizon.
“He basically said that locking a circuit breaker might or might not work, but he had no illusions that it’s on the horizon,” said a source.
Fines
Meanwhile, Varadkar also told his party colleagues Tuesday night that a system of graduated fines should be considered, which could include € 50 fines for not wearing face masks and € 200 fines for leaving his county.
Sources present at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting said Varadkar told MPs and senators that the previous system of 2,500 euros fines for those who violate Covid-19 regulations was considered draconian.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar leaves a cabinet meeting at Dublin Castle on Tuesday Photo: Dara Mac Dónaill
A better system of graduated fines should be considered, he said, including fines of 50 euros for those who do not wear masks or fines of 200 euros for those who violate travel restrictions.
On Monday, in a speech to the country from Government Buildings, Taoiseach Micheál Martin sought to balance public health demands with the need to “protect lives and livelihoods” by warning that a return to confinement “would lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of Job positions “.
The country was in “a very different situation from last March,” he said, warning that “the severe restrictions now would have a very damaging impact” on the economy.
Martin’s statement represented a strong rejection of the advice of Dr. Tony Holohan and the public health team, after a day that was the subject of fierce criticism throughout the government from the medical director, who returned from leave Sunday and immediately toughened Nphet’s position.
Dr. Holohan warned the Government that there could be 2,300 cases per day in a month if current trends continue. He noted new outbreaks in nursing homes and in settings that serve vulnerable groups such as travelers, the homeless and the direct recipients of the provision.
A Garda checkpoint near Naas. Photograph: An Garda Síochána / Twitter
The chief physician told Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in a letter that current measures “do not sufficiently control the disease” and that it is “vital that we do everything in our power now to stop the current trajectory at the national level.”
However, the Government decided to ignore the advice and opt for the introduction of Level 3 statewide, keeping Dublin and Donegal at the same level.
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