Stores may need to close from St. Stephen’s Day as the government urged NPHET to begin the six-week closure

Stores may need to close after St. Stephen’s Day as NPHET has urged the government to initiate a six-week Level 5 closure beginning on St. Stephen’s Day.

NPHET has reported that nonessential retail should close.

At level 5, home visits are also prohibited.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has asked retailers not to go ahead with the January sales for fear of causing crowds in stores.

Many restaurants and gourmet pubs will close today at 3pm.

Growing concern about the new variant and the level of illness in Ireland has prompted NPEHT to make a recommendation for a six-week shutdown, the Irish Times reports.

The cabinet will not meet again until December 29 and it is understood that a decision on Nphet’s council will not be made until then.

After St. Stephen’s Day, new restrictions on home visits and travel between countries will come into effect.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) warned on Wednesday that as Ireland enters the Christmas period, it is “being hit hard by a rapidly spreading and spreading virus.”

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the cabinet will keep the NPHET council “in the foreground” when it meets on December 29, but did not anticipate that the government will act accordingly before then.

He told Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One: “Let’s not forget the decisions we have already made and make sure to focus on adhering to those recommendations and to engage people and deliver very clear messages to them in terms of who we are hoping they will keep everyone safe through Christmas. “

Coveney added that the government “is there to make decisions about all the information we have” and there has been “no collective response” to the new NPHET advice.

A more infectious strain of coronavirus has been detected in Ireland, health chiefs warned last night.

But they do not believe that the new variant of the virus, which was detected in Britain, is solely responsible for the rapid spread of the disease.

The Health Department reported 938 new infections and 13 more deaths yesterday.

At the health conference, the director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr Cillian De Gascun, said: “Following the announcement from the UK, we tested some of our existing cases in the diagnostic asset. These are samples from December 19 and 20.

“They have shown us that, now these are small numbers, but in the region probably around 10% have that abandonment of the S-Gene.

“Based on the epidemiology in the UK, based on travel between the two counties and based on the schedule, those results are likely to reflect the presence of the UK variant. But given the time, it probably wouldn’t count the case numbers we’ve found on its own, but like I said, we’ll continue to confirm that.

“Based on very small numbers, it is predominantly in the east of the country, but that is where we see a significant burden of disease anyway.

“It’s too early to be final, but that’s where we’re seeing it right now.”

The new strain is reported to be 70% more infectious than the original virus.

The variant was first seen in the UK last September. Several European countries, including Ireland, have suspended flights from the UK in an effort to suppress the new tension.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced last night that two cases of another new strain of the coronavirus have been detected in the UK. He said: “Both are case contacts who have traveled from South Africa in recent weeks.”

“This new variant is very concerning because it is even more transmissible and appears to have mutated more than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK.”

The South African variant of Covid-19 is likely to be more transmissible, may affect young people more, and may be slightly more resistant to vaccines, the scientists believe.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said he doesn’t believe the new variant is the cause of Ireland’s recent surge. He added: “We do not believe at this time that we have evidence that widespread transmission is occurring with this new variant at this time.”

Professor Philip Nolan of the NPHET modeling advisory team warned that all indicators of Covid-19 are on the rise, with the virus growing at an “exponential rate.”

The 14-day Covid-19 incidence rate in Ireland is now 153 per 100,000 inhabitants with a five-day moving average of 785 cases per day.

Speaking last night, Professor Nolan said that this current wave of cases is increasing as fast as the first increase in March and said that the R rate is now estimated at between 1.5 and 1.8.

It predicted between 1,000 and 1,600 cases per day if the R rate does not fall below 1.

The average number of hospital admissions has gone from 14, where it has remained stable for weeks, to 22 in the last seven days.

Demand for tests has also increased with more than 20,000 performed on Tuesday with a 5.2% positivity rate.

Professor Nolan cautioned: “The fundamental message here is that the disease is increasing rapidly throughout the community and that really puts the vulnerable at risk.”

About 65% of the cases are under 45 years old, with a median age of 36 years.
In Dublin there are 300 cases, 110 in Cork, 72 in Limerick, 68 in Donegal and 41 in Kildare.

Earlier, HSE chief Paul Reid said yesterday that Covid-19 transmission levels are “very serious and dangerous.”

He added that the situation in Ireland regarding new Covid-19 cases was deteriorating faster than in any other country in Europe.

Previously, Taoiseach Michael Martin warned that it was “inconceivable” that a new strain of Covid is no longer in Ireland.

He said there are “risks” with intergenerational mixing during Christmas, adding: “The less congregation the better.”