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The National Public Health Emergency Team has urged the government to reimpose restrictions on home visits and the hotel sector as of December 28.
In a letter to the government, Medical Director Tony Holohan’s team said that home visits should be reduced to a single house more than three days after Christmas Day:
Nphet also said that pubs and restaurants should close from this date.
The recommendations are made in the context of the increase in new Covid-19 cases since the shutdown ended on December 1.
The cabinet will consider the recommendations next week.
Speaking previously on RTÉ Six One, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he was “very concerned” by the increasing number of cases and confirmed that Nphet recommended restrictions on home visiting and the hospitality sector before New Year’s Eve.
The Taoiseach said Nphet’s concerns stem from an increase in cases across all ages and the resulting effect this may have on hospitalizations, ICU admissions and mortality.
“While the surge in the second wave was mainly in young people, so it didn’t have the same effect on hospitalizations and ICUs,” Martin said, adding that the health care system in Ireland is in good shape this year. winter, but he said “we want to keep it that way”.
“[We] It will inform the people about the decisions that the government makes, but we are aware of the increase in the numbers. When they reach a certain level, they can increase exponentially. “
Martin said that people should act like they have the virus and don’t want to spread it.
“I think Christmas is about family, but we have to look at the intergenerational mix. It is extremely important that we all wear masks, stay vigilant and take care of ourselves. “
“We are concerned that when we look around the Netherlands and Germany are closing for Christmas, Northern Ireland is under tremendous pressure and the UK is under heavy pressure,” said the Taoiseach.
Tonight, Tánaiste Leo Varakdar admitted that it is very likely that the restrictions will be imposed on the hospitality sector before the end of the year and that it will be a “devastating blow”.
Speaking on Prime Time, Mr. Varadkar said the Level Five restrictions “were not inevitable”, but said the new restrictions would amount to shutting down the hospitality sector once again.
“What Nphet recommends is that we re-impose some restrictions between Christmas and New Years, without reaching January 6 as we expected.
“The kind of restrictions that we would be thinking of imposing between Christmas and New Years are restrictions on hospitality, essentially shutting down hospitality again and limiting home visits, but without imposing a total ban.”
Retail and personal services would remain open, including non-essential retailers, Tánaiste said.
Varadkar admitted that the news will be a bitter pill for pub, restaurant and hotel owners, but said the government may be forced to act.
“The difficulty is that the cases have started to increase again, especially in the last few days. The number of people who tested positive in the last seven days is 25% higher than in the previous seven days. The positivity rate is also increasing, which is concerning.
The Tánaiste said that the government will not rush to make a decision and “although it is not likely, the number of cases may stabilize in the coming days.”
“We want to wait that couple of days for advice from other sources and see what those industries have to say. There have been periods before when cases spiked suddenly and then leveled off. I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but I think it’s wise to wait that couple of days.
“We would still be giving companies a seven to 10 day notice if we make an announcement on Tuesday,” Varadkar said.
This occurs when Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil that the R number, or the reproduction of the virus is now between 1.1 and 1.3, which means that one infected person will transmit the disease to more than another.
All the leading indicators are “pointing to a serious increase in cases,” he said, in comments that will increase fears that a January shutdown could follow in a few weeks.
He said he had received a “very sobering” report from public health officials that the incidence of the disease is increasing and must inevitably grow with the relaxation of controls for Christmas.
“We have already seen the number of personal contacts increase,” he said, despite a series of messages asking people to limit their socialization and highlighting that every contact counts.
The virus was between 0.9 and 1 last week, which means it was contained, but is now increasing again, Donnelly said.
The situation was precarious, he warned, adding that an R number above 1.2 would mean that “cases can increase very, very quickly.”
The levels of positivity seen in the tests have also risen, as have the referrals for PCR tests, he said, as doctors are registering flu-like symptoms among a larger number of patients attending their surgeries.
He warned that all leading indicators “point to a significant increase in cases and we have seen an increase in the number of personal contacts.”
The number of personal contacts for each individual who tests positive has increased in the last week from 2.8 recent to 3.6 today, an increase of more than a quarter.
“Ireland has done the best in the Western world as a nation and as a body politic,” he said, and they all worked together to reduce the virus and “keep people alive.”
Minister Donnelly gave the opening statement in a Dáil space at the Covid-19 working group.
He had had a lengthy conversation with the medical director and deputy medical director, Dr. Tony Holohan and Dr. Ronan Glynn, and the latest information was “very sobering,” Donnelly said.
But Ireland was in a prime position for citizens to see friends and family at Christmas due to the six-week Level 5 lockdown, he said.
Donnelly said he would call on the public to follow and act on the advice of Dr. Ronan Glynn to reduce the number of contacts they planned to have during the holiday season. It was vital to suppressing the virus now and in the future.
Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe said he was despairing of the constant public “rumor mill,” particularly about whether schools were closing. The government was committed to keeping schools open, he said.
“The education sector has been one of the true success stories in the way we have responded to this pandemic,” he said.
Sinn Féin TD Sean Crowe said that he, his family and colleagues would take the vaccine, and begged people not to spread any anti-vaccine propaganda. He asked them to remember that they had an impact on the health and lives of other people.
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