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The government will impose new restrictions on social and economic life in Dublin on Friday in response to the increase in Covid-19 cases in the capital in recent weeks.
The Cabinet is expected to pass a proposal to move Dublin to Level 3 of Covid restrictions, and Ministers must sign regulations on Friday night to impose the restrictions on a variety of activities starting Friday at midnight.
Under additional dining restrictions, restaurants and pubs that serve food may only open if they have outdoor facilities or for takeout services. The authorities have already decided that the pubs that do not serve food, the so-called ‘wet pubs’ will remain closed in Dublin when they reopen across the country on September 21.
The government’s public health experts made the latest recommendations Thursday night, amid growing alarm over a surge in cases in the past seven to 10 days.
Irish Restaurant Association executive director Adrian Cummins said he was “surprised” that the indoor dining room was closing in Dublin for the next several weeks.
“Currently, controlled and regulated environments like restaurants are not the problem, but homes,” he tweeted.
In other measures, travel to and from Dublin will only be allowed for work or educational reasons, and people will be asked to work from home unless absolutely necessary.
The number of guests allowed at weddings will be reduced from 50 to 25, although weddings organized for this weekend will be allowed to continue as planned, with the new restriction only taking effect on Monday.
Enrollment
Government sources also indicated that third-tier universities in Dublin may be required to move as many enrollments online as possible.
Today, most tertiary institutions are preparing for a combination of online and in-person tuition, and students typically spend at least one day on campus each week. However, sources indicated that only essential campus-based activities can now take place in Dublin.
The cabinet committee on Covid-19 will meet Friday morning to consider the recommendations of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), but sources say the recommendations will surely be adopted. They will then be approved by the Cabinet, with an announcement likely made by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin and the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, later that day.
NPHET held a lengthy meeting on Thursday before sending its recommendations to the Government. They were then considered by another committee of senior officials chaired by the top state official, Martin Fraser, and also attended by the heads of the health and justice departments, as well as HSE Executive Director Paul Reid and Acting Director. Dr. Ronan Glynn.
The new rules will mark a sufficient tightening of restrictions in Dublin as the capital moves to Level 3, although the rest of the country will remain at Level 2.
Family meetings
In Dublin, social and family gatherings outside the home are likely to be prohibited, while home visits should be restricted to people from another home. Sports matches will also be suspended, although there is an exemption for elite sport, which includes club championship games.
Organized indoor events such as conferences and events in theaters, cinemas or art venues will not be allowed. Outdoor events will be limited to 15 people. Gyms will be allowed to open for individual training only. Churches and places of worship will remain open for private prayer only, although funerals will have an exemption. Even here, however, only 25 mourners will be allowed.
On Thursday night, health officials reported that one more person had died from Covid-19 and 240 more cases had been reported.
Dr Glynn said that half of the cases (119) were in Dublin, while there was also an increasing age profile among those contracting the virus.
The latest figures mean the death toll in the state has risen to 1,789. Confirmed cases have now passed the 32,000 mark, climbing to 32,023.
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