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The government will decide this morning whether to raise Dublin’s alert level above the rest of the state under its new five-tier Living with Covid-19 plan in the medium term, as serious concerns about infection rates continue in the capital.
What is at stake is whether to keep it at the second most benign level of the five-level plan, Level 2, despite the fact that the number of cases multiplied by twenty in the course of a month in the capital, or to raise it to Level 3.
However, if it remains at Level 2, Dublin’s population of 1.4 million will be subject to additional restrictions, including a delay in the reopening of wet pubs from the scheduled date of September 21, as well as a new measure that will say that members of only one household will be able to visit another household. It is also understood that consideration is being given to suspending all nursing home and nursing home visits.
However, the other scenario that high-level ministers were discussing last night was to designate Dublin at Level 3, but to modify some of the more severe restrictions associated with the elevated level.
In five hours of successive meetings yesterday involving the cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19 and the three party leaders, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, the main focus was the deterioration of the situation in Dublin.
“They were long meetings,” said a senior government source. “Dublin is a big concern.”
The source said, however, that it would have been “premature” to assign the more serious Level 3 status to Dublin, as a full analysis of the situation in the capital has not yet been carried out.
“All the signs are very worrying,” added the source.
The Cabinet is due to give its final approval to the plan this morning, including additional measures for Dublin.
Biggest concern
Yesterday Mr Varadkar gave an indication of the impact the growing concern over the situation in Dublin would have on the plan. He referred to a twenty-fold increase in cases in the space of a few weeks, stating that the capital would require additional restrictions and a “different response” than the rest of the country.
“While that has not yet resulted in a dramatic increase in people in hospitals or ICUs or deaths, the truth is that it will probably head in that direction if we do not overcome it,” he said.
Hospitalized patients
The National Public Health Emergencies Team (NPHET) reported another 208 confirmed cases of coronavirus last night, including 108 in Dublin. There were no new deaths.
The number of hospitalized patients has gone from 36 to 60 since the beginning of the month, while the number of patients in intensive care has risen from six to 11.
The incidence of Covid-19 in two areas of Dublin has risen above the 100 per 100,000 mark for the first time since spring, new figures show.
The 14-day incidence of the virus is now 107.5 per 100,000 people in southeast Dublin and 116 in northwest Dublin, according to the latest epidemiological report from the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC).
Separately, the period during which people with Covid-19 must isolate themselves will be reduced from 14 days to 10.
Under the new guidelines, patients who test positive are advised to self-isolate for “a minimum of 10 days” from the onset of symptoms.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Licensed Vintners Association, Donall O’Keeffe, said it would be “amazing” if the reopening of non-food related Dublin pubs were further delayed on September 21.
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