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GABINET IS EXPECTED to approve school closures until February, after last night’s subcommittee on Covid-19.
The Cabinet subcommittee met to discuss a number of possible additional restrictions.
Schools will be closed until at least January 31. However, certain special schools and classes for people with special needs will remain open.
The government will review school closings on January 30.
Most construction sites will also close, and only limited sites involved in the construction of social housing, schools, and other exempt projects will be allowed to remain open.
The click-and-collect exemption for non-essential retailers will also be removed.
The current distance of 5 km that people can travel is to stay in place.
In addition, the Cabinet will agree that all travelers to Ireland from any country will have to provide a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours.
It will be rolled out first for those traveling from the UK and South Africa, but then rolled out to other countries.
The travel ban from Britain and South Africa will be extended for 48 hours and will now expire at midnight on Friday.
After that, all travelers from those countries will need to provide a negative Covid-19 test when they arrive in Ireland.
Passengers must show negative test results when boarding.
If you travel without a prior test result, passengers could be subject to a fine or arrest.
The requirement for a negative test for all other countries on the red list will be introduced at a later stage.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach said it agrees with medical director Tony Holohan that there is a problem with more than a million people “on the move” traveling to schools, given the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
“Opening schools means there are a million people in the community. And given the speed and spread of the disease, and given what we’re seeing in other parts of other jurisdictions, in terms of that speed and that growth, you have to really measure the convenience of doing it. “
Before today’s cabinet meeting, it is understood that several ministers believe that the entire construction industry should remain open.
Speaking yesterday, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe highlighted the importance of the construction sector for the economy.
“From an employment standpoint alone, I think keeping construction going will be a very important part of how we can help our economy recover as we move through the year. But we’ll have to listen to NPHET in terms of what the consequences of doing that might be. “
In an interview with TheJournal.ie Before Christmas, when the Taoiseach announced the additional restrictions, Housing Minister Darragh Murphy said construction would remain open at all times.
“Yes, 100%. We are very clear about that, that construction and its auxiliary services, so construction support services, are essential services and remain open in the current restrictions, “he said. The minister said the industry has adapted well and is operating safely.
However, it is understood that some in government circles believe that when schools are closed and hospital operations canceled, it is difficult to argue that construction is essential.
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The Taoiseach said yesterday that suppression of the virus will mean a significant reduction in people’s mobility back to the levels we had in Ireland in March.
“In other words, we really have to tell people that they have to stay home for the next few weeks are essential purposes,” he said.
While schools are due to remain closed this month, there are concerns that they may remain closed for longer, with one minister saying that January 31 is only an indicative date.
Any services that are closing now, including schools, could remain closed until the vulnerable have been vaccinated and the number of cases is reduced to a low level.
For some parts of the economy to reopen, close-contact sampling would have to work again for the numbers to be comparable. There is great caution about lowering restrictions until the number of ICUs returns to around 30 and hospitalizations are below 250.
It is speculated that this will not happen before the end of February, perhaps in March.
At 2:00 p.m. yesterday, 840 Covid-19 patients are in the hospital, of which 76 are in the ICU. There have been 102 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
While the issue of imposing a curfew, as has been done in other countries, was not on the agenda of last night’s meeting, it is understood that some ministers are in favor of introducing one.
In addition to approving the new restrictions, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys is submitting a memorandum to Cabinet requesting approval to keep the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) at its current rates until March 31.
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