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Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has confirmed that new restrictions are likely to appear after Christmas.
The hospitality sector is likely to be the first to close with pubs serving food and restaurants expected to be forced to close again.
There are also expected to be stricter rules on home visiting in the days after Christmas, with the limit reduced to just one more house.
The Cabinet will make a final decision next Tuesday, but Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar gave a brief explanation of what we can expect in RTE prime time last night.
He said: “The numbers have started to rise again, particularly in the last few days. The number of people who have tested positive for Covid in the last seven days is 25% higher than the previous seven days.”
“And the positivity rate is also increasing, that’s cause for concern and alarm. So what NPHET recommends is that we should re-impose some restrictions before Christmas and New Years, without reaching January 6 as we expected. “.
He added: “The kind of restrictions we would be thinking of imposing between Christmas and New Years would be hospitality restrictions, essentially shutting down hospitality again and limiting home visits to another home, but not a total ban on home visits. .
“But, for example, non-essential retail and personal services would remain open.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also admitted Thursday that more Covid restrictions are likely to come into play before the end of the year.
Mr. Martin struck the blow after NPHET recommended that the government should implement restrictions on the hospitality sector and a cap on the number of households that mix into one another before the end of the year.
Mr. Martin told RTE News that the government will take these recommendations “very seriously” and said that people can expect more restrictions “towards the end of the year, I think before New Year’s Eve is how I would put it.”
However, he said the government will make a decision on Tuesday on what exact restrictions will be reintroduced and “the specific nature of the restrictions will have to be decided by the government.”
While the medical director, Dr. Tony Holohan, also expressed concern about the increase in the 5-day moving average of cases.
Dr. Holohan said: “The 5-day moving average is 387 per day; This is an indicator that the disease is moving rapidly compared to the previous 5-day average.
“The virus is spreading across the country, in all age groups.
“We are now receiving reports of outbreaks in social settings, including work settings, Christmas parties and funerals.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is to limit your interactions now.
“The consequences of not doing so will be an exponential growth in January, a substantial increase in hospitalizations and risk to life.”
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