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After days of warnings from senior public health officials about the continued spread of Covid-19, the government last night reversed its previous stance and announced the introduction of Level 5 restrictions for the entire state for the next six weeks.
In a televised address to the country from government buildings last night, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that while restrictions in recent weeks have “slowed the spread of the virus, this has not been enough and more action is now required.”
The decision was announced after a cabinet meeting held on short notice yesterday gave its approval to the measure, although not without some dissent from ministers. The measures will go into effect tomorrow night.
Under the Level 5 plan announced last night, schools and childcare facilities will remain open, as will construction and manufacturing sites, but non-essential retail businesses and services, such as the hair salon, will be forced to close, plunging tens of thousands of people into unemployment and costing the treasury hundreds of millions of euros in lost taxes and social benefits.
Do not travel
People will be told not to travel more than 5 km from their homes, and there will be fines for those who break the rules.
Teachers unions last night expressed concern about keeping schools open. But Mr. Martin said the advice was that schools are safe places for children. Government sources privately fear that unions will not cooperate on the new plan.
Face masks on sale galore in central Dublin. Photograph: Paul Faith / AFP / Getty
Last night’s announcement came after the Government resisted calls from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan in the past fortnight to move to Level 5, the stage more severe of the governmental framework of Covid restrictions. Cabinet sources said the key to the abrupt change was the support of Tánaiste and Enterprise Minister Leo Varadkar for the new restrictions. Previously, Varadkar had been one of those who were reluctant to introduce a new blockade and was highly critical of Nphet’s approach to the issue.
However, Varadkar is said to have changed his mind after a series of warnings from public health experts about the rising prevalence of the virus in recent days.
Last night, another 1,031 confirmed Covid-19 cases reported by Nphet brought the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 50,993, less than eight months after the first case of the virus was recorded in Ireland. As of 2 p.m. yesterday, 298 Covid-19 patients were in the hospital, including 34 in the ICU. There were 20 hospitalizations for the disease in the last 24 hours. But there was significant disagreement within the government over the latest move. Although they accepted the decision made by Varadkar, Martin and the leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan, it is understood that the ministers responsible for Economy and Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath, opposed the measure over the weekend, accepting only the decision when the party leaders pushed for it yesterday.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin announces a level 5 crossing for the entire state, in Dublin’s government buildings. Photograph: Julien Behal / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was also skeptical about the need to move to Level 5 over the weekend, although he told RTÉ last night that he was “convinced” of the need for change.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney had also questioned the need for a six-week lockdown, while other ministers suggested that a three- or four-week period would suffice. The ministers finally decided that the blockade will be reviewed after four weeks.
Infection numbers
Party leaders were alarmed by warnings that the number of infections could skyrocket in the coming weeks. A full six-week lockdown will mean new cases of around 50 to 100 per day as the Christmas season begins, Nphet told the government in a letter last week. However, failure to impose a full six-week lockdown would mean that around 1,000 cases a day could still be expected by mid-December, Nphet warned.
Failure to enforce a total lockdown for six weeks would mean that the disease was effectively out of control over the Christmas period, Nphet suggested.
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