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The government is expected to allow people to visit the homes of their friends and family for a period of two weeks around Christmas next month, said Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
On Friday, the government will announce a gradual reduction of the blockade restrictions during the month of December. This will likely include a relaxation of inter-county travel limits and home visits later in the month to allow people to celebrate Christmas.
In Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, up to three households will be able to meet during a five-day Christmas period between December 23 and December 27.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Varadkar said the government hoped to introduce a similar measure to allow home visits “for something closer to two weeks” in the Republic.
At present, the expectation in the Government is that the limits on home visits should be reimposed after the holiday period.
“A date would come into force in January when the restrictions would be stricter again, but again that will depend on the numbers. We will not re-impose restrictions just for the sake of doing it, we will only re-impose restrictions if the virus is taking off again, ”Varadkar said. “It is the objective of the Government to have a family dinner on Christmas Day, as normal as possible.”
Lower incidence
Varadkar said he hoped the country would not have to reintroduce a Level 5 blockade, but added that “that cannot be ruled out.”
“We saw it in Germany and Italy, countries that had a much lower incidence than us, the virus took off suddenly over the course of a week or two, so it is not possible to rule out a return to Level 5 sometime next year, ” he said.
However, he said that the government will seek to avoid a prolonged national blockade lasting several weeks. “If it happens, we intend it to be much shorter, more like two or three weeks than the six we have experienced,” he said.
The restrictions will be eased in phases next month, and shops, hair salons, hotels and museums are expected to reopen in early December.
“Obviously we would like to make the maximum reopening starting next week, but we think that is not safe,” Varadkar said.
“The things that we will do at the beginning are the things that we know are safest, open the shops, open the gyms, allow people to cut their hair.”
Relaxing restrictions in the “higher risk environments” where people congregate, such as the hospitality sector, sports settings and homes, would take place by the end of the month, he said.
No final decision had been made on when the restaurants would be allowed to reopen, and the Cabinet would decide the final plan on Friday, following advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, he said.
Varadkar denied that a gradual relaxation of the measures could confuse people. “We will do everything we can to keep the rules simple and straightforward,” he said.
“When you have too many rules, it’s really easy to make a mistake and break the rules without even realizing it, especially when they change all the time or if they vary from place to place,” he said.
The Tánaiste and the Minister for Business spoke at an event at Grand Canal Dock in Dublin City, asking people to support local businesses when shopping this Christmas.
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