Six more counties on the brink of Level 3 restrictions

Six more counties are now on the verge of increasing to level three restrictions as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said “it is a possibility” that other parts of the country will follow Dublin as it rises to level three restrictions, which have seen many bars and restaurants in the capital close.

In a stark warning to other parts of the country, Ryan said “it is not just a Dublin problem” as the virus is spreading rapidly in the community of Louth, Waterford, Donegal, Leitrim, Limerick and Kildare.

The warning comes in as the highest single-day figure since it was recorded on May 14, with 396 new Covid-19 cases confirmed Sunday, bringing the weekend’s figure to 670.

While Dublin still accounts for the highest number of cases, Cork recorded 36 new cases; 19 cases were confirmed in Donegal; 12 in Galway; and 11 in Meath and Kildare.

There are now 82 people confirmed with Covid-19 in the hospital, including 17 patients in intensive care.

With more restrictions, thousands of people would move to pandemic unemployment payment (PUP), which will be the subject of a review in the next budget.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has suggested that the payment, which is due at the end of March, could be extended for up to a year.

Until last week, the maximum PUP rate for those laid off due to the Covid-19 crisis was € 350 a week, however the rates have now been changed to € 300, € 250 and € 203, depending on how much. a previously earned person.

However, high-level government sources ruled out the possibility of reinstating the payment at € 350 in areas like Dublin where restrictions are moving upward, as social welfare payments are not based on geography.

Sector supports for those working in the arts and entertainment are expected to be unveiled in the October budget, while a package for taxi drivers is also being considered.

“We have to recalibrate and the budget gives us an opportunity to re-examine issues like pandemic unemployment pay,” Martin said.

We already change it now so that it is available for new participants. That was going to close in terms of new entrants; we have changed that.

Mr. Martin said the government would consider a term of nine to 12 months, which, he said, will be a challenge for Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath.

As so-called wet pubs open their doors from today, pubs and restaurants in the capital are now banned from serving indoors and Dubliners have been asked not to leave the county under level three measures.

With cases increasing daily, Minister Simon Harris said there is now a “very, very narrow window” to control Covid-19 and that people must take swift, decisive and very difficult action.

“We Irish really have a choice because we are at a crossroads. This could go one of two directions and now we have to make sure we don’t go back to where we were in March or April,” he said. .

Responding to criticism from the opposition about the test and trace system, Harris told RTÉ Politics week that Ireland is testing more people than most other European countries, but said the country will be in “a very, very bad place” if we hit the weekly testing capacity of 100,000.

Urging people to restrict their social contacts, Ryan added: “It is not just Dublin at the moment that is a problem; there are other counties where there are actually the same kinds of characteristics where the community levels increase by Louth, in Waterford, in Donegal, in Leitrim, in Limerick, still in Kildare, even though there was a very successful stop of the disease on the tracks there, we still have to be careful across the country.

“It’s not easy; nobody wants to do it,” he said, “but that systematic approach that has been put in place now will help and is key to managing all of this.”