[ad_1]
Dublin could move to a dreaded Level 4 or 5 lockdown if cases in the capital continue to rise.
That’s according to infectious disease expert Professor Sam McConkey, who is head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at (RCSI).
Furthermore, he says that tighter restrictions may be the only sensible thing to do if things do not improve in the capital.
He told Newstalk: “The sooner we do it, the shorter and less restrictive those measures will have to be.”
He continued: “The Covid-19 case rate has risen in four or five counties to almost the same level as Dublin and action is required now.”
He added: “Unfortunately, if the number of cases continues to rise, whether in Dublin or those counties, then unfortunately the only sensible thing to do is go up to Level Four or even Level Five.”
Dublin is currently at level 3, but with additional restrictions on a few things that have been added specifically to curb cases in the capital, such as delayed opening of “wet” pubs and restaurants restricted to alfresco dining.
What is Level 4 of the Living with COVID plan and what are the restrictions?
There are five levels of virus alert under the government’s Living with COVID plan announced last Tuesday.
Level one is the least severe, level five is full lockdown mode with a series of strict stay-in-place measures.
The whole country started at Level 2, but Dublin was immediately hit by additional restrictions, leading to its category being named Level 2 and a half.
This quickly increased to level 3 (and a half) for Dublin last Friday alone.
If the county level is increased once more to level 4, the following restrictions will further restrict the movements of Dubliners:
- Visits to someone else’s home or garden are not allowed.
- Social or family gatherings should not take place in other settings outside of your home
- Only 6 guests can attend the wedding ceremony and reception.
-
Organized meetings should not be held indoors
-
Outdoor training – Non-contact training can be done, but only in groups of up to 15
-
Indoor training: individual training only, no exercise or dance classes
-
Matches and Events: No matches or events will be held, with the exception of elite / professional sports and horse racing behind closed doors.
-
Gyms / leisure centers / closed pools
-
Religious services will be held online, places of worship will remain open for private prayer
-
25 mourners can still attend funerals
- Museums, galleries and other cultural attractions are closed.
- Bars, cafes and restaurants only allow 15 people to dine outdoors, dining indoors is not allowed, take away food is allowed (this restriction already exists for Dublin, despite not being part of the restrictions of the Level 3)
- Pubs with water also fall below the 15 person outdoor limit, but have not been allowed to open in Dublin, despite not being part of Level 3 restrictions
- Nightclubs, discos and casinos will be closed.
- Hotels are open, but only for existing guests and for those with essential non-social and non-tourist purposes.
-
Retail businesses and businesses that are primarily outdoors can only stay open, all other retail and personal services closed
-
Only essential workers or other designated workers should go to work
-
Copies must remain in the county separate from work, education, and other essential purposes.
-
Schools and kindergartens will remain open with protective measures, in addition, adult and higher education will primarily move in line with adequate protective measures in place for essential on-site assistance.
-
Outdoor playgrounds, play areas, and parks remain open
-
People are encouraged to walk or ride a bike whenever possible
-
Public transport capacity will be limited to 25%
-
Visits to long-term residential care facilities (nursing homes and nursing homes) will be suspended, as well as critical and compassionate circumstances
Several of these restrictions are already in place in Dublin under the bastard version of the Level Three level restrictions (dubbed Level 3.5) implemented last Friday.
The main changes would affect weddings and retail, which would be the most affected by the Tier 4 guidelines.
Restaurants and pubs would also be significantly affected, had they not been further restricted due to additional measures put in place to combat the virus in the capital.
NEWSLETTER
Just insert your email in the box above and get the latest news and entertainment straight to your inbox.
Every day we will send you an email summary of the latest news from Dublin on news, entertainment and sports, all in one convenient email.
You can unsubscribe from this service at any time. And rest assured that your data will not be shared with any other party.
APP
Get the latest from Dublin, with breaking news as it happens, sports updates, traffic alerts and all the latest in your area.
Fully customizable, the FREE Dublin Live app lets you customize what news you watch and when.
The app is the best way to follow the latest news from Dublin; including video interviews and traffic and travel notifications. Make sure to keep notification alerts turned on to get the top breaking local news and traffic alerts right on your home screen.
Just click on your app store links below and download it for FREE.
Dublin Live APPs Embed
You can like our main Facebook page here.
Our Dublin sports live page, bringing you all your Dublin sports news, can be found here.
Dublin Live’s Twitter account is @DublinLive.
Our Instagram account can be found here.
For the latest news and breaking news, visit dublinlive.ie/news.
Get all the great headlines, images, reviews, opinions, and videos on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on twitter @DublinLive – the official Dublin Live Twitter account – real news in real time.
We’re also on Facebook / dublinlive – your must-have news, features, videos, and images all day from the capital.
[ad_2]