[ad_1]
Updated 1 hour ago
A PHASED LIFTING of Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions during December is expected to be announced this week.
There was a brief discussion on the planned uprising at today’s cabinet meeting. The country will return to Level 3 restrictions, with some modifications, next Wednesday.
While it had been speculated that the public announcement could be made on Thursday, so as not to clash with the Late Late Toy Show, the work plan from now on is that the government plans to release the details on Friday.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) will meet tomorrow and the government will be waiting to see the final data before making a final call on the level of restrictions during the Christmas period.
The current restrictions should last until one minute after midnight on December 2, and the first phase of reopening will see nonessential stores open on that date, along with hair salons, barbers and gyms.
It is understood that retailers will also be given the green light to extend opening hours.
While such a move generally requires a planning permit, local authorities are believed to have been working hard with businesses to facilitate longer opening hours.
In the first phase of reopening, sports such as tennis and golf will also restart next week.
Travel
Inter-county travel will be restricted until the end of December, but the 5K guide will be removed in the previous phase.
The recommended ban on home visiting may not be lifted next week, but it will likely remain in effect until the end of December.
In terms of restrictions on home visits, it is believed that they could be lifted for Christmas week, with a focus more on choice and personal responsibility, rather than rigid recommendations on the number of meetings.
The public will be asked to limit themselves to mingling in perhaps a main gathering during the Christmas period.
Independent TD Richard O’Donoghue advocates opening up the hospitality sector, says that during Christmas ‘people will meet officially or unofficially’ pic.twitter.com/AMrtykqWRC
– Rónán Duffy (@ronanduffy_) November 24, 2020
The main battlefield for the government is whether pubs and restaurants will reopen in December.
There are doubts in government circles that wet pubs have the green light to open their doors.
While no final decisions have been made yet, it is understood that in order to allow restaurants and pubs serving food to open, one of the options being considered is to delay their reopening for a week from December 1.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that all sectors will receive prior warning before reopening. He said the government has been using data analytics, in conjunction with NPHET, to make its decisions.
“The data will inform the next steps,” Martin said, adding: “It’s not guesswork.”
Some of the measures to be announced “will be nice, others will not,” he said. The Taoiseach said Ireland is the second best in Europe in terms of keeping the virus down. “Will anyone recognize him?” I ask.
No news is bad news
Support the magazine
your contributions help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you
Support us now
Martin said there will be risks as we move into the Christmas season, but “it’s how we mitigate those risks” that matters.
Loss of revenue of up to 270 million euros
Hotels and guesthouses across the country face a loss of revenue of up to 270 million euros over the Christmas period due to government restrictions, the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) said.
Commenting on the fact that people will not be allowed to travel outside of their county for much of December, Tim Fenn, executive director of the IHF, said this will have a devastating impact on hotels across the country, limiting severely your ability to trade.
“It is clear that December and Christmas will be very different this year. But the government must take a more balanced approach to allowing people to travel outside of their county to visit family members.
“Hotels can be an important part of the solution to facilitate this by providing spacious, highly secure and highly controlled environments for people to remain independent of the home environment. We have a proven safety record and we urge the government to recognize the role we can play in ensuring a safer Christmas. “
Fenn added that the next few weeks of operations will be “absolutely vital for hotels in terms of maintaining them during the first months of next year, when business levels will be dramatically lower.”
With reporting by Órla Ryan
[ad_2]