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Pubs serving food and restaurants may only open in Dublin if they have open-air dining rooms, or for take-out services, as recommended by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
The recommendations, which are expected to be accepted by the government, also mean that travel to and from Dublin will only be allowed for work or education reasons and people will be told to work from home unless absolutely necessary.
Government public health experts have recommended that Dublin move to Level 3 restrictions, according to government sources. The Government has already indicated that pubs that do not serve food will remain closed.
Under the proposed recommendations, 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.
The new restrictions for the capital are being introduced, probably starting tomorrow night, if the Government follows the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
A meeting of senior officials was held tonight to discuss the implementation of the Level Three restrictions, and will report to a cabinet committee meeting on Covid-19, scheduled for tomorrow morning. If approved by the cabinet committee, the measures will go to a virtual meeting of the full cabinet shortly thereafter.
Level 3 restrictions would mean that Dublin would be subject to stricter restrictions than the rest of the country. They include a ban on indoor or outdoor social or family gatherings, additional restrictions on indoor dining, as well as telling people not to travel outside the county. No matches or events will be allowed and no spectators will be allowed in any of the games that take place.
The Irish Restaurant Association said it was “surprised by NPHET’s decision to recommend to Cabinet that all indoor canteens close in Dublin over the next several weeks.”
“Currently, controlled and regulated environments like restaurants are not the problem, homes are!” association executive director Adrian Cummins said on Twitter.
Latest Covid-19 figures
Earlier on Thursday, NPHET reported that one more person had died from Covid-19 and 240 more cases had been confirmed.
Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Ronan Glynn commented that half of the cases (119) are in Dublin, while there is also a rising age profile among those contracting the virus.
The latest figures reported tonight by the Center for Health Protection Surveillance mean the overall death rate in the state has risen to 1,789. Confirmed cases have now passed the 32,000 mark, climbing to 32,023.
The division is practically even in terms of gender, while 61% are under 45 years old. Almost half (47%) are linked to outbreaks or close contacts of a confirmed case.
The data shows that 44 cases have been identified as community transmissions.
One hundred and nineteen cases are in Dublin, while the rest are spread across the country: 19 in Wicklow; 17 in Kildare; 16 in Donegal; 15 in Waterford; and 10 in Limerick.
Fewer cases were reported in other counties with eight in Cork; six in Louth; and five in Wexford. The remaining 24 are distributed in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Tipperary and Westmeath counties.
A further breakdown of the government’s coronavirus data shows that there are 14 cases in intensive care units. Of the more than 80,000 tests carried out in the last week, there has been a positive rate of 2.2%.
“Fifty percent of current cases are in Dublin. We are now seeing a higher proportion of cases in older age groups, ”Dr. Glynn said.
“Act now to save lives. Limit your contacts as much as possible. Assume that you and the people you know are contagious, keep your distance, and do your part to keep others safe. “
Case numbers are as of midnight Wednesday.
GP suggests level 4 restrictions
Earlier Thursday, Dublin GP Ray Walley suggested that the capital Dublin should be at Level 4 of the government’s Living with Covid-19 strategy. Glasnevin’s doctor said he was particularly concerned that under Level 3 up to 25 people could gather for a function such as a wedding.
On Wednesday night, public health experts expressed a high degree of alarm at the current rate of infection, with one saying it was “more concerned than at any time since late April.”
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Dr. Walley warned that the age profile is increasing (among Covid patients) and that this will have a “downstream” impact.
Dr Walley said the concern was that the rate of infections had increased due to social gatherings, this could extend to older people who have a higher morbidity rate and require more hospitalization.
“It’s like one flood after another, it takes longer to disappear. All of this takes a long time to recover. “
NPHET has to consider putting Dublin on Level 4, he said, and there must be more positive messages as well. People should be told what they can do, not what they cannot do. They also need to know how to stay healthy while living with the virus.
Intensive care units
Dr Gabrielle Colleran from the Irish Association of Hospital Consultants warned that there was an urgent need to double the intensive care unit (ICU) beds and the number of consultants, as Ireland has half the EU average in ICU beds and the lowest level of consultants.
Last winter was the worst winter when it came to carts, the issue needs to be addressed now, he added. “We need to have enough staff to deal with this.”
Meanwhile, neuroscientist Tomás Ryan has said the government should provide a strategy to help the country get to Level 1 by Christmas.
Dr Ryan, assistant professor of biochemistry and immunology at Trinity College Dublin, said the framework announced by the government this week was not a strategy, it was a framework for which a strategy was needed to show how the country could get there. to Level 1.
“We want a way to get through this so we can get to Level 1 by Christmas,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Active measures are required, he said, such as a more aggressive testing and monitoring system and more regional measures that allow individual counties to take control of their own situations.
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