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The country has entered a new period of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in response to the increasing number of cases and a growing rate of infection in the community.
This level 5 lockdown, agreed at a cabinet meeting last week on Tuesday, brings the country back to similar restrictions in place before early December.
Some measures have already been put in place, such as the closure of restaurants, gastropubs and personal services such as hairdressers and barbers from 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon of Christmas Eve.
Under the level 5 plan, revised “with a” series of specific adjustments “according to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the following measures have been introduced:
- Visitors from two homes were allowed until the end of St. Stephen’s Day, but are now reduced to one home through December 31;
- Out-of-county travel is allowed until the end of December 26. People can travel back at their own pace, but no new inter-county travel is allowed after that.
- Christmas religious services may take place, but will move online after December 25;
- Travel restrictions from Great Britain remain in effect until December 31;
- Restaurants and pubs with food close from 3 pm on Christmas Eve;
- Hairdressers and personal services to close from Christmas Eve;
- Non-essential retail may remain open Gyms may remain open for individual training. The 5km limit will not be enforced, but exercising close to home is recommended.
For a full explanation of the new restrictions in place, please see the latest guidelines posted here.
The government has said that the restrictions will be reviewed on January 12, but Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has already downplayed hopes on the matter.
According to Varadkar, the public can expect to be under level 5 restrictions for the next two months as the government rolls out its Covid-19 vaccination program.
“It will probably be towards the end of February or the beginning of March before a critical mass of the population is vaccinated and I think we must operate on the basis that these restrictions will be in place until then,” Varadkar said.
The new period of restrictions takes effect when the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Comirnaty, has arrived in Ireland.
Micheál Martin described his arrival as a day of “great hope”.
“Those who work in our health services deserve great recognition, as they quickly and safely begin their deployment to the most vulnerable in our society,” said Mr. Martin
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