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The Government will face considerable pressure in the coming days to resist advice from public health experts to further delay the reopening of drinking-only pubs in Dublin later this month if Covid-19 numbers remain. high.
The National Public Health Emergencies Team (NPHET) made a series of recommendations after their meeting yesterday, as 196 new cases of the disease were confirmed, more than half of them in the capital.
In an attempt to curb the growing number of infections in Dublin, which has been attributed to household gatherings, the team has proposed some restrictions for the county. These include reducing the number of households from which people can gather in a household from three to two, with a maximum of six people allowed to visit.
The Northern Executive announced yesterday the introduction of restrictions in Belfast and parts of Co Antrim in a bid to halt an increase in coronavirus cases. People from different households will be barred from meeting in private homes, which Prime Minister Arlene Foster said had been a “villain” in the Covid-19 resurgence.
NPHET also suggested that it might be premature to reopen bars in the capital as of September 21. Sources said key decisions would come closer to that date and will depend on the prevalence of the disease in Dublin at that time.
Ministers have said privately that it would be a painfully difficult decision to reverse the decision to reopen pubs, albeit regionally, for a third time.
‘Fierce lobbying’
High-ranking Dublin-based ministers, including Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, have questioned the logic of keeping county pubs closed.
“Cabinet will ask what ‘wet bars’ might have to do with the spread of the virus if it is happening in homes,” said a source with knowledge of the discussion.
“There will be fierce lobbying from now until Tuesday by winegrowers and politicians, and also the public.”
The cabinet’s Covid-19 subcommittee, which also met yesterday, did not specifically discuss the latest recommendations, focusing instead on the Living with Covid-19 medium-term plan to be released early next week.
It is understood that the Government will also allow people to start attending sporting events starting next week. The changes will be phased in with figures of 5,000 people cited for large sites such as Croke Park and Aviva Stadium, and 400-500 for smaller sites, where social distancing is more difficult to achieve.
NPHET would continue to provide advice under the new plan, but a new oversight group, chaired by top state official Martin Fraser, will be established to review the public health advice and make its own recommendations to the government.
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