Cabinet to meet today to discuss further Christmas restrictions as NPHET announces ‘third wave’ of Covid

GABINET WILL MEET this morning to discuss advance restrictions before New Year’s Eve.

Coalition leaders met last night to discuss growing concerns about the increase in Covid-19 cases. The cabinet subcommittee on coronavirus, composed of the Taoiseach and high-ranking ministers, was also convened.

Yesterday the National Public Health Emergency Team announced 727 new Covid cases in Ireland, with no new deaths.

Hospitalizations number 241, and ICUs now number 29.

The chair of NPHET’s Irish Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan, said the country is “clearly now in a third wave of this pandemic.”

It is understood that the Cabinet subcommittee has decided to recommend that gourmet pubs and restaurants close mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve.

The full cabinet will also decide today whether to reintroduce the inter-county travel ban by Jan.6.

It is understood that travel between countries may not be allowed after December 26, but this will be further discussed today.

The restriction on inter-county travel was only lifted on weekends, along with the ban on home visits, to allow families to gather over the Christmas period.

Government sources indicated Friday night that inter-county trips would remain in effect until January 6; however, it is now widely expected that the Cabinet can make a U-turn on that decision today.

While government sources also reported Friday that gastronomic restaurants and pubs would remain open until December 30, some ministers believed Christmas Eve would be a “natural” point to close.

In terms of home visits, guidance on these will also be the subject of a more in-depth discussion in Cabinet today.

The current guideline for Christmas states that people can meet up to two more households in their home or garden.

Meanwhile, the government is believed to want to keep non-essential gyms and stores open.

Government sources said this will safeguard jobs and preserve people’s mental health during what will be a challenging period.

They noted that the increase in cases would have been planted two weeks ago, with little expectation that they will fall before January.

The government’s view is believed to be that the restrictions will be revised two weeks after January, when the Christmas mix should have dissipated and the numbers could start to decline.