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Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed tonight that the Government would relax Level 5 restrictions starting on December 1 with a gradual reopening of various sectors of the economy and society.
All retailers, gyms, churches, hair salons, barbers, museums, galleries and cinemas will open on Tuesday, December 1.
Gastronomic restaurants and pubs with their own cuisine will serve indoor dinners from Friday, December 4.
The final phase of the Christmas Covid plan will begin on December 18, when inter-county travel and indoor gatherings of people from up to three different households will be allowed. This will last until January 6, when the government will review the epidemiological profile of the virus to guide the country’s path until early 2021.
Many of the measures that were relaxed contrast with Nphet’s advice issued to the government on Thursday.
Nphet, in his letter to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, expressed concern that the profile of the virus could change quite quickly and urged a “gradual and cautious approach.”
Here are nine ways the government decided to go against Nphet’s advice and take a more lenient approach to public health measures over the Christmas period:
Home visities
Nphet recommended that the government choose between an increase in home visits or opening up the hospitality sector.
He suggested that a maximum of six people from another household would be allowed to visit another household, but the Government decided to allow two households to do so and did not place a limit on the number of people.
Hotel sector
The government also decided to ignore Nphet’s advice to keep pubs and restaurants closed during December, rather than allowing restaurants and gastropubs to open from December 4 with strict social distancing measures. The so-called wet pubs will not be allowed to open.
Inter-county travel
Nphet urged the government to limit domestic travel between counties between December 21 and January 3, but the cabinet decided to allow people to travel anywhere in the country from December 18 to January 6.
Travel to and from Northern Ireland
Nphet recommended banning all travel to and from Northern Ireland due to the higher incidence of the disease north of the border, but ministers have allowed travel to all six Northern Ireland counties once inter-county travel is allowed on December 18, but they have said that they will assess the situation closer to the date.
Reopening of retail sale dates
The government deviated from Nphet’s advice for just one day when it came to reopening non-essential retail outlets, with the decision to open these stores on December 1 instead of December 2.
Religious services
It was decided to allow religious services to continue from December 1, while Nphet recommended that they be reduced until December 21 and cease once again on January 3.
Number of trips between counties during the Christmas period
Nphet suggested that people traveling to different counties should only embark on one of those trips during the holiday period, but the government has not limited the number of trips people can take during the Christmas period.
Hotel bars and restaurants
Dr. Tony Holohan and his team urged the government to allow only residents to dine inside hotel bars and restaurants, but the government has not limited hotels to serving only residents during the Christmas period.
International travel
Nphet advises against all but essential international travel, and the team believes that only people traveling for reasons like funerals or health care reasons should do so. The Government has advised Irish living abroad not to book flights home yet and has expressed concern about the possibility of diseases being transported to Ireland during the Christmas period. But so far there has been no official directive in this regard.
Online editors
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