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One NPHET member warned that people may be “taking their eyes off the ball” with Level 5 restrictions and the increase in social gatherings on the streets, workplaces, and funerals is “demoralizing for people who are trying to do your best. “
Dr Mary Favier, former president of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said support for the restrictions is “wearing off around the edges” and the increasing cases of Covid-19 are due to “complacency and fatigue” among the public.
He called for clear communication from the government, unions and community leaders to maintain public support for the restrictions for the next two weeks.
Yesterday, the medical director warned that the average Covid-19 case count in five days is increasing, describing it as “a worrisome development that has persisted for the past few days.”
Dr Tony Holohan said: “We are seeing a number of things that concern us. There are examples of small numbers of people congregating for social purposes and simply ignoring important public health messages. They are putting our collective progress at risk.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Favier said there would be problems with the pubs reopening based on current case numbers.
She said that while NPHET will look very carefully at how this could be done for Christmas, caution is needed as the virus spreads when people let their guard down.
Read the latest Covid-19 stories
Dr. Favier also said that travel restrictions are appropriate now and will remain appropriate five to six weeks from now.
He said the reality of asking people to travel to Ireland and restricting their movements or relying on the use of negative test results is not enough and public health advice remains that non-essential travel is not appropriate.
“While it is difficult, we have to find a way to do it,” he added.
Dr. Favier also called for unions and employers to work together to ensure that more workers can work from home, and said that in some workplaces employers have been recruiting employees “inappropriately and unnecessarily.”
The Health Department reported one more death associated with Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the total death toll in Ireland to 1,979.
An additional 378 cases of the coronavirus were reported, bringing the total number of cases reported so far to 67,903.
Ireland’s religious culture at a crossroads – Archbishop
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has said that many of those who attended religious services prior to Covid-19 will never return to public worship, and that the Catholic Church needs to figure out how to define itself for the future.
Speaking about the same program, he said that the suspension of public worship has weakened the interaction of the Church community.
Archbishop Martin said the Church has to think about what it will be like in the future and how to reach out to people as an ecclesial community.
You can also close large church buildings, as “an empty building is more expensive to run than a building in use.”
His remarks were first made during his homily at St Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin on Saturday, when he said that the religious culture of Ireland and especially Dublin is “at a crossroads”.
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