The ‘January lockdown’ is not ruled out, but non-essential outlets will not be closed

THE TAOISEACH HAS SAID that the government will not be afraid to act to impose restrictions in January if the Covid-19 numbers increase exponentially.

Micheál Martin announced last night the gradual reopening of the country before Christmas, which will allow the opening of restaurants, gastropubs, gyms and hairdressers, as well as home visits.

However, the Taoiseach also issued a warning that if the numbers rise, the restrictions could be back in play in early 2021.

Government sources believe there is a “high probability” that a two-week short circuit will be needed in January, with the view that such a move would be better than four weeks of restrictions in February or March.

However, these restrictions are likely to affect only the hospitality sector, and nonessential retail will remain open.

Speaking to reporters in government buildings last night, the Taoiseach said that when it announced the Level 5 restrictions, it noted that the country could face future restrictions again in January if virus levels rose again during Christmas.

He said that Covid-19 is transmitted through human contact, so how people act is key.

Martin said there are limits to how the government can try to control people’s behavior for long periods of time.

Medical Director Tony Holohan’s letter to the government this week warns that Ireland could find itself in a “precarious” position and the virus could develop “quickly”.

In response to the question about those concerns, the Taoiseach said:

“Overall, NPHET recommended that we move to Level 3 and we were obviously concerned about hospitality, to be fair. These are judgment calls along the way. There is also a need to balance economic, social and mental well-being.

“Of course we have to monitor where the virus takes us after this. Some of this is in our hands in terms of how we behave.

“We will not be long in acting again. In any case, we have learned that by moving earlier than most European countries we are in a much better place, “he said.

If the restrictions are implemented again in Ireland in January, they may not look like the previous ones, the Taoiseach said.

Government sources have stated that even if a circuit breaker is needed, non-essential retail will not close again.

The Taoiseach noted that emerging data shows little risk in store environments.

“We will see this again in January. We will learn from research and data. You might be considering a different type of restrictions if we had to move to more restrictions. Similar to level 5, we had a different set of constraints than we had in phase one lockdown in the spring. Construction remained open, schools remained open. This is an evolving journey.

“We want this to be sustainable. We will review this on January 6 in terms of new measures that we might have to take or indeed some of these reopens could be sustainable, some of these sectors might not have to close again. If you opt for nonessential retail, we will watch it very carefully because there is more data coming in all the time, ”said the Taoiseach.

Although the government did not name it as such, some people have criticized this so-called “seesaw” approach that has been singled out as Ireland’s path through the pandemic.

State Minister Pippa Hackett previously stated that a “free for all” Christmas could lead to another lockdown in the new year.