Coronavirus in Ireland – Border pubs could see northern gambler’s crowds as bars to open months before Northern Ireland – The Irish Sun

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Irish border pubs could see the treasures of northern gamblers on their doorsteps after the Stormont closure emerged that could last until the end of the year.

December is seen as the first possible point to enact the final step of a five-stage plan to get Northern Ireland out of the shutdown.

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But in the Republic, according to the State’s own road map, pubs could return to serve in limited quantities from August.

Northern Ireland’s plan, presented yesterday, was immediately criticized for avoiding setting dates.

The Stormont Cross Match Executive was deemed to have hedged his bets to allow maximum flexibility.

If things go well, schools in the north could see a limited reopening after the summer, and in about five months people could get their first professional haircut since the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, it will be close to Christmas, at the earliest, when people can go to their premises for a jar.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was “disappointed” because the plan itself did not have a time frame.

He said it had been “a missed opportunity” to offer hope to people.

‘DIFFERENT WORLD’

Maurice McLaughlin, who runs the Sean Og pub in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, said he hopes to reopen customers from the north and south, but that it will be in “a different world.”

He said: “We will still have to err on the side of caution because we will certainly open under strict guidelines.

“Only a certain number of people will be allowed to enter anyone’s bar, no matter where they are from.”

He said there were many “unanswered questions” about how things will be controlled.

He added: “We have many hikers and people taking their vacations and we look forward to serving all of those people again, but safely.”

FIVE STEPS PLAN

Outlining Northern Ireland’s plan at Stormont, Prime Minister Arlene Foster said she recognized that problem, but insisted that it was correct for Stormont “not to be guided by a timetable.”

The key to the plan’s first step, with its timeline far more vague than that planned for the Republic, is a welcome first move that will allow up to six people to gather outdoors.

They do not have to live on the same property, but must maintain a distance of two meters.

The second step will be for groups of ten to meet outdoors and small group non-contact team sports training will be allowed.

You will also see the reopening of some open-air libraries and museums, as well as indoor activities that involve limited contact of less than ten minutes and with two or four people.

The third step will see groups of up to 30 people who can gather outside, the reopening of more libraries, as well as museums and galleries, the resumption of rehearsals and theatrical concerts and larger internal gatherings.

The fourth step will be to see the services of the church socially distanced, the resumption of competitive sport behind closed doors or with a limited number of spectators, the reopening of leisure centers and the resumption of open-air concerts in a restricted way.

At this point, people will be allowed to return to the salon.

But it won’t be until the final step, which is expected to be around December, that the largest indoor gatherings in places like nightclubs, restaurants, cafes, pubs and education for the early years will get the green light.

‘WE WILL GET THERE’

As nine new Coronavirus deaths were reported in Northern Ireland, DUP leader Foster said the roadmap gives an idea of ​​”how the coming weeks and months could evolve.”

If he could have given dates, he said, “he would have had.” The prime minister said the three-week continuous review pattern will continue and that any changes will be backed by medical and scientific advice.

Foster said: “Our restrictions have worked and saved lives, and they are.

“We are asking our people and we appreciate that the restrictions also have consequences for health and well-being. We want everyone to be able to go out, visit relatives, socialize and enjoy all that this place has to offer.

“We need people to return to work where it is safe to do so. We will get there. It will take time, but we will get there. ”

Simon Hamilton of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce said: “It is disappointing that it does not even include indicative hours as elsewhere that would allow companies to properly plan their reopening.”

Ms. Foster said the “sad truth” was that some companies would not survive the unprecedented shutdown.

She told the assembly: “It is true, we are honest about it.

“What we have to do is try to make sure that the maximum number of companies survive and that has always been what has driven the executive in terms of its economic interventions, along with the interventions of the Westminster government.”

TIMETABLE ‘WOULD PROVIDE GREATER CERTAINTY’

Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill said step five was in the “not-too-distant future” if people stick to the advice. She added: “The restrictions are still in place right now because it is necessary and because fortunately it is working.

“Our greatest threat in the fight against Covid-19 is complacency.

“Until a vaccine is found, it means coexisting with the virus and therefore a radical change in the way we live our daily lives for some time.”

She said there is “very good” north-south cooperation to deal with the pandemic and that it will continue.

He added: “We examined very carefully the issue of setting specific timelines and dates to certain areas and we decided not to do it because people want light at the end of the tunnel.

“We don’t want to raise expectations and then we have to back off.”

Eastwood added: “I think a timeline would have provided greater certainty and I know that people would have sympathized with any deviation from that timeline if circumstances changed. It is a missed opportunity.”

LOCKING REVIEW FOR MAY 28

The latest figures show that 33,440 people have tested for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland since the pandemic was declared, and 4,193 people have tested positive.

447 deaths of people with the virus have been reported as of 10 am Tuesday.

That bleak figure, while continuing to rise, is increasing at a slower rate than before.

Across the UK, the death toll is currently 32,065.

The R measure of virus transmission in Northern Ireland is around the 0.8 level, which means that less than one person is transmitting the virus from each infected person.

Health officials in the north want that to be further reduced, and the lower it is, the faster the region will come out of the blockade.

The Stormont Executive is ready to review the closing rules before May 28.

If all goes well, launching the first step at that point will be recommended.