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Gourmet restaurants and pubs will close before New Year’s Eve and visits will be limited to one home under escalating Covid restrictions, the Taoiseach has confirmed.
Micheál Martin has said that the “Level 3 plus” restrictions will be implemented earlier than expected due to the increase in Covid cases.
“I’m concerned about the increasing numbers, we have to be concerned about them because one thing we know about this virus is that when it reaches a certain level, it increases exponentially after that.”
Confirming that stricter measures will be introduced “before New Year’s Eve”, Mr. Martin said: “We want to give people a meaningful Christmas, that will happen and I think from a mental well-being point of view, and only the reunited families, that’s important, but in order to care for themselves, people really need to do the essentials in terms of wearing masks and so forth. “
Mr Martin said he wants to “move early” to avoid the pressures seen in Northern Ireland, where hospitals have overcapacity and ambulances have been seen queuing outside health care facilities.
He said he couldn’t anticipate a government decision, but the “high probability” and measures he will recommend to cabinet include shutting down hospitality, interrupting inter-county travel and visiting other homes instead of the current three. .
The government will consult with other experts, including the CSO, to gather as much information as possible, before approving any measures next week.
The Taoiseach said there is a “difficult balance” to strike regarding restrictions, as “there is only a limited amount that people can take.”
But Martin said the spikes seen in the United States and Canada after Thanksgiving celebrations had been closely monitored and cautioned that “we can’t be blind to those experiences either.”
Acknowledging the difficulties facing the hospitality, arts and entertainment sectors, Martin said the Government’s “total goal” has been to keep those companies and sectors viable so that when we overcome Covid they can resurface, rejuvenate and grow.
“We will reexamine our commercial supports to make sure they are achieving that goal and that they will, the government has no illusions about the enormity and severity of the impact on the hospitality sector and related sectors such as the arts and entertainment.”
He told Newstalk Breakfast that the endorsements will continue “until the middle of next year, if not beyond.”
Martin said that the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had provided a rough estimate of the vaccine launch at a meeting of leaders last week.
“In January, February, lower volumes of vaccines are observed in Europe, but the priority is the residents of nursing homes and health workers.
“Harvesting in March and April and then in May, June and July are very important months in which there are very high volumes. Then, in the August period, you have open access to the vaccine,” he said.
Mr. Martin advised people to act like they have the virus and not want to spread it to other people.
Meanwhile, Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said that social contacts had “increased significantly” over the past seven days, but needed to be reduced to avoid greater risks from Covid-19.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Dr Holohan said that there had been “too much social contact” in the last two weeks, and that the reproduction rate was probably over 1.3, as the effect of contact had not yet been seen. recent socials.
Dr. Holohan also denied that any sector was being “disturbed”.
The increased number of interactions in social settings where alcohol was consumed makes people less cautious about following advice and keeping their distance, he said.
The data had shown that social contacts had increased significantly in recent days, he said, and opportunities for social contact needed to be reduced, particularly indoors.
He cautioned that public health advice was difficult to uphold when alcohol use came into play. Given the opportunity, the virus would spread very quickly.
There was still time to take steps to halt the rise in Covid-19 cases, so that no further restrictions had to be imposed, he added.
Earlier at the Newstalk breakfast, Dr. Holohan warned that the country could not afford to “do” Christmas or the New Year in the usual way.
Relaxing restrictions for two weeks during the holiday period was “too long”, especially given the higher level of socialization
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