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The government is willing to reject the advice of the state’s public health experts and allow gastronomic restaurants and bars to reopen in December, while allowing home visits.
The Cabinet Covid-19 subcommittee met for five hours on Thursday night and proposed that much of the hospitality sector should be allowed to reopen from December 7 onwards.
High-level sources said there would be stricter rules, including reducing the time allowed at a table and the number of people who are allowed to sit together in restaurants.
Home visiting is unlikely to resume next week, although the rules on this will change as of December 18, while travel restrictions will also be removed, allowing people to leave their county.
In a letter to the government, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) had warned that the hospitality sector should be allowed to offer take-out services throughout the month of December.
Nphet said a choice must be made between relaxing restrictions on home visits or allowing the hotel sector to reopen.
A senior source said the government would seek to “rebalance” this and allow much of the hospitality sector to reopen, but with the trade-off of allowing smaller groups to meet at people’s homes.
How many people can be visited at Christmas has yet to be decided, but it is likely to be fewer than six out of three households.
Level 3
Sources said the Cabinet will meet on Friday and approve plans to move the country to a Tier 3 variance after six weeks of the toughest Tier 5 restrictions.
Stores, gyms, and hair salons are expected to reopen starting next week.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed yesterday that the introduction of Level 5 restrictions had cost the Treasury € 1.5 billion in state aid and loss of taxes.
Nphet also recommended that there be one visitor per week for nursing home residents beginning the second week of December. He also warned of the prevalence of the disease in Northern Ireland, which followed Tánaiste Leo Varadkar saying it was not about the government banning travel across the border.
Daily Covid-19 cases rose above 300 yesterday for the first time in four days, but the overall trend remains a gradual decline in most parts. Nphet reported 335 new cases, including 119 in Dublin, where the decline in the incidence of the disease has stalled over the past week.
However, the seven-day moving average of 296 cases per day fell below 300 for the first time in the second wave of the pandemic. However, there is no prospect of reaching Nphet’s original target of 50-100 cases per day by the end of the month.
Religious ceremonies
The reproductive number, a measure of how much the virus is transmitted, is currently estimated at 0.7-0.9, executive officials with the health service said.
HSE Executive Director Paul Reid said yesterday that the expected decline in virus-related hospitalizations and ICU admissions had not yet materialized, and that these numbers were “stagnant.” However, the health service was entering the winter in a stronger position than last year, he added, with a 15% decrease in assistance to the emergency department and a 70% decrease in the number of trams.
Government sources also welcomed a recommendation from Nphet that places of worship be allowed to open during the two-week period between Christmas and the New Year. There are serious doubts about whether the permit for choirs and Christmas carols will be approved in religious ceremonies, given the connection between the singing and the possible spread of the coronavirus.
While it doesn’t explicitly say that Christmas carols and choirs should be prohibited from being part of Christmas religious ceremonies, Nphet emphasized that special attention should be paid to that aspect.
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