[ad_1]
Ireland will remain in a Level 5 lockdown until at least March 5, the Taoiseach announced.
Micheál Martin made the announcement today in government buildings after a cabinet meeting.
The continuation of Covid-19 public health measures will cause non-essential shops, schools, pubs, and construction sites to remain closed for the time being, as cases of the virus remain high throughout the community.
The schools, however, can open in stages starting next month.
The Cabinet also agreed that all those coming from South Africa and Brazil, where Covid variants have been found, will face mandatory quarantine upon entering the country for no less than five days.
The requirement that others isolate themselves for two weeks upon entering the country will cease to be a warning and will be sanctioned with fines or imprisonment.
Those who arrive without a negative PCR test will be punished with a fine of up to € 2,500 or six months in prison, as well as two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine.
The Taoiseach said the restrictions were being applied in an attempt to “squash the virus” and urged people to “stay home”.
He said he did not believe that “raising the drawbridge” would succeed in suppressing the virus.
“The most important thing we can do is stay home and respect hand hygiene and distance.”
The Taoiseach said more gardaí would be deployed in ports and airports.
He said that the application of the quarantine for passengers outside the EU could be done under current restrictions and would apply to anyone entering the country through any port of entry on the island.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the decision to extend the lockdown was made in part to allow for the gradual reopening of schools, as well as to allow the launch of the vaccine to be accelerated.
He said travel measures will take time to allow for the requisition of hotels, staff training and negotiations with the EU, the UK and the Northern Executive.
Varadkar said international travel will be a small percentage of cases for now, but that it will become a problem in March or April when cases are minor.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said people were “making huge sacrifices” and wanted to see these reflected in government policy.
Several cabinet ministers made it clear that they would like the restriction regime to go further and have expressed concern about the time it will take to bring the quarantine system online.
Talking with him Various government sources said Ministers Simon Harris, Catherine Martin and Whip Chief Jack Chambers made it clear that they feel the proposed changes do not go far enough.
It’s clear that primary legislation will be needed to give effect to plans to introduce a mandatory quarantine of up to 14 days for those traveling from Brazil and South Africa.
The dissenting ministers reportedly noted that the new variant strains of the virus are not simply limited to the countries for which they are named, raising the likely efficacy of the measure to be questioned.
There is also concern that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has been accused of introducing the quarantine system at a time when he is already under pressure from delays in launching the vaccine.
Another source said that as of now, the hotels have yet to be taken over and, combined with the need for legislation, the new quarantine system is several weeks away from being operational.
There was a feeling, according to some in the government, that the cabinet is being swept away by public opinion and “we are making it up as we go.”
Government ministers are ready to approve an extension of the current Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions until March 5.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed the move this morning, before today’s cabinet meeting.
New travel restrictions are also expected to be introduced this afternoon.
The Taoiseach said this morning that “a significant number” of people with Covid-19 were likely still in Irish hospitals at the end of February, even with the extension of the strict lockdown measures.
He said: “That is the real and clear motivating factor in terms of the measures that we are going to take today, in terms of continuing nationally with restrictions and seriously restricting travel as well.
“We tell people to ‘stay home’, it will produce the best results in the shortest time possible.”
The Cabinet is also ready to introduce mandatory quarantine in hotels for those who enter the country without a negative PCR test for Covid.
Visitors arriving from higher risk countries like South Africa and Brazil, where newer, rapidly spreading variants of Covid-19 have been identified, will also be subject to mandatory quarantine measures.
Passengers from other countries will also be legally obliged to restrict their movement. Movement restrictions had previously been recommended for travelers in this category.
Passengers without a negative PCR test result will also be subject to a fine of 2,500 euros or up to six months in prison.
Proposals establishing Garda checkpoints outside the country’s airports are also expected in an attempt to curb non-essential travel, given the green light this afternoon.
Much stricter penalties will also be introduced in terms of the five-kilometer rule to prevent people from traveling by plane, as well as higher fines for those traveling for non-essential purposes.
More garda checkpoints will also be set up in border areas to stop any nonessential travel between Ireland and the North.
Opposition parties have said that the new measures probably won’t go far enough in terms of stopping the spread of Covid-19 here.
Sinn Féin transport spokesman Darren O’Rourke said the government’s quarantine proposals would fall “far short of what is required now.”
[ad_2]