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The National Public Health Emergency Team has recommended that new domestic restrictions be introduced in Dublin to address the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the capital.
NPHET is understood to have told the Government that their preference would be to reduce the number of families allowed in any home during visitation from three to two. This measure is proposed to cope with the high number of Community broadcasts in Dublin; many of the cases are caused by clusters of households.
However, the current number of six will not be reduced, only the number of people from different families will be reduced.
It is also understood that the team has not made any recommendations restricting travel in and out of the capital, apart from new advice that people should limit their travel and not consider doing it for social occasions.
While the pubs will reopen on September 21, NPHET has also issued a cautionary note about facilities in the capital saying some restrictive measures might be desirable if numbers don’t stabilize.
The cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19 is currently meeting and will consider advice from the body of experts this afternoon. The meeting of the group, which includes Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, was delayed due to a series of votes from the Dáil.
Sources familiar with the NPHET discussion said the feeling was that the main discussion about pubs in Dublin will occur in the lead up to the proposed reopening on September 21 and the decision will be determined by virus levels at the time.
Nphet also discussed updating the guide on visiting seniors in vulnerable settings, such as nursing homes. The central theme of Thursday’s discussions was about the situation in Dublin and not about Limerick. New travel restrictions are unlikely to be imposed that will prevent people from leaving the Dublin area.
‘Wet pubs’
It was previously known that the ‘wet pubs’ will be able to host live music when they reopen on September 21, according to informed government sources.
The current regulations surrounding Covid-19 do not expressly prohibit music from being played in bars. As part of a broader push to support the entertainment sector, which has also been hit hard by the pandemic, sources said the government will not discourage live music or pub sessions involving small bands or individuals.
However, all social distancing and Covid-19 guidelines must be followed.
“We are very interested in making sure that as much activity as possible takes place and that as many musicians and performers as possible get back to work,” the source said.
The Minister of Media, Art and Culture, Catherine Martin, will appoint on Thursday the chair of the working group that is being established to help the arts and culture sector adapt to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Previously, Ms. Martin said she wanted the current restrictions on meetings lifted to support the arts and music industry so they can get back to work as she wanted to see artists perform again.
The current restrictions on the number of attendees at events were not feasible for the industry and were an anomaly, he said on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne program.
“I want our musicians to play, sing again, earn a living.”
On Tuesday, the Cabinet gave the green light for all so-called “wet pubs”, which do not serve food, to reopen as of September 21, seven months after they closed for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
They will operate according to the guidelines developed by Fáilte Ireland, which designate pubs as “controlled environments” and are therefore subject to strict restrictions. Most of the requirements already apply to restaurants and pubs serving food that were allowed to open in June. However, there are some new restrictions, especially in the realm of social distancing.
Questions and answers: How will the ‘wet’ pubs work from September 21?
Ms. Martin added that she fully accepted the social and economic impacts the restrictions had on the arts, music and sports sectors and that she wanted the public to come back and the “turnstiles open.”
Financial support to sports organizations such as loss of ticket sales was being considered and stadium closures were being felt. He said he was “more about to open than close” and understood the demands of the artists as he had worked in the industry and played on Grafton Street.
Public health was central to all decisions, he said, but he felt the numbers could increase based on what had happened abroad. “Let’s open in the safest way possible.”
He said funding for the arts sector would be available under a new arts task force along with two pilot plans launched this week.
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