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Long butts continue on the roads leading out of Dublin, 12 hours after new coronavirus-related restrictions went into effect.
At noon, there were still three-kilometer delays on the N7 southbound from Dublin and two-kilometer delays on the N4 from Dublin as gardaí restricted use of the motorway to establish checkpoints monitoring people’s movements.
Many motorists turned around after admitting that their trips outside of their own counties weren’t necessary.
The new Level 3 restrictions went into effect across the Republic at midnight, with hundreds of Garda checkpoints installed and a warning of even stricter restrictions on cards.
More than 2,500 Garda members have been deployed as part of increased police surveillance across the Republic, and heavy traffic congestion is anticipated due to the impact of so-called super checkpoints. Operation Fanacht involves 132 large-scale checkpoints per day on the country’s main arterial routes, in addition to thousands of mobile checkpoints on secondary routes in cities and towns per week.
A Garda checkpoint on the N11 on Wednesday. Photograph: An Garda Síochána / Twitter
Gardaí has no law enforcement powers, but hopes to persuade people not to take non-essential travel outside of their own county.
The impact of the operation was seen immediately on Wednesday morning. Long lines were reported going back five miles on the M4 out of Dublin. There were also reports of heavy traffic on the N2 towards Dublin from Co Meath and on the M50 heading south.
Video footage taken at 7.45am on Wednesday showed long butts on the M7 leaving Dublin. Southbound traffic was stopped with three lanes reduced to one to facilitate Garda checkpoints.
The Waterford road surveillance unit conducted an early morning checkpoint in support of Operation Fanacht at Ferrybank on the outskirts of the city of Waterford. The Naas Highway Police Unit set up checkpoints near the town of Naas.
A motorist said he was pulled over three times between Ballyshannon and Claremorris with four-by-five rear-end cars, even though traffic was moving.
In announcing the measures Tuesday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris warned that traffic would be heavy in and around Dublin. They hoped the delays would be so long that they would discourage people from leaving their home county and encourage them to work from home.
He said the checkpoints would see traffic channeled into a single lane on highways and other arterial routes across the country. This would mean that it would “be very difficult” for anyone taking road trips during Operation Fanacht for the next three weeks.
Level 3
The government decided on Monday that all counties will join Donegal and Dublin on Tier 3 of the five-tier Living with Covid strategy for the next three weeks through Oct. 27.
Level 3 means tighter controls over daily life as numbers of contracting the virus and needing hospitalization increase.
Another 432 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) on Tuesday night. This brings the total number of cases of the disease in the Republic to 38,973. One more death was reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,811.
According to the Health Service Executive, on Tuesday night there were 142 confirmed cases of people with coronavirus in Irish hospitals, almost three times the figure from a month ago. A total of 24 people were in the ICU with coronavirus last night, up from six a month ago.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar leaves a cabinet meeting at Dublin Castle on Tuesday Photo: Dara Mac Dónaill
At Level 3, people are asked to remain within their county unless they have to travel for work, educational, or other essential purposes. Home visits are restricted to a maximum of six people from another household, while weddings and funerals are limited to 25 people. Pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars serving food may remain open for takeaway, delivery and outdoor meals / services up to a maximum of 15 people. Dublin’s wet pubs are closed. Nightclubs, discos and casinos remain closed on Level 3.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar warned at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on Tuesday night that a brief lockdown may still occur despite the government this week rejecting the advice of the National Public Health Emergencies Team (Nphet) to move to the Level 5.
Mr. Varadkar went on to say that the council had not been “thoughtful” and criticized Nphet after the news emerged Sunday night without prior consultation with the government.
However, sources present at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on Tuesday night said that Varadkar warned that a switch closure may still be on the horizon.
“He basically said that locking a circuit breaker might or might not work, but he had no illusions that it’s on the horizon,” said a source.
Varadkar also told his party colleagues on Tuesday night that a system of graduated fines should be considered, which could include fines of € 50 for not wearing face masks and fines of € 200 for leaving his county.
Sources present at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting said Varadkar told MPs and senators that the previous system of 2,500 euros fines for those who violate Covid-19 regulations was considered draconian.
On Monday, in a speech to the country from Government Buildings, Taoiseach Micheál Martin sought to balance public health demands with the need to “protect lives and livelihoods” by warning that a return to confinement “would lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of Job positions “.
The country was in “a very different situation from last March,” he said, warning that “the severe restrictions now would have a very damaging impact” on the economy.
Mr. Martin’s statement represented a strong rejection of Dr. Tony Holohan and Nphet’s advice to implement Level 5 measures, following a day of harsh government-wide criticism of the medical director.
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