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One hundred people will be allowed to attend weddings under the new Covid-19 rules that will be introduced by the government.
The move will be a big boost for people getting married in the coming weeks, as current restrictions only allow 50 people to attend.
The cabinet subcommittee on Covid agreed to double the number of people who can attend weddings in time for today’s announcement on the latest levels of restriction.
However, there will be restrictions on home visits in the capital and the reopening of pubs in Dublin will also be delayed.
The government has agreed that the country is at level two of its new five-point scale of restrictions, hence the possibility of holding larger weddings.
Concerns remain about the increase in cases in Dublin, but it was agreed not to move the capital to the most severe level three of restrictions this week.
Near
Solution: Tánaiste Leo Varadkar spoke of hopes for a vaccine in early 2021. Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters
REUTERS
However, the Government will today enforce a recommendation from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) requesting that Dublin’s wet bars not open on September 21.
Government party leaders are believed to have agreed that pubs will not open in Dublin next week. Cabinet is expected to approve the decision.
Restrictions on the number of people allowed to visit a home will also be introduced in Dublin.
The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said the decision to delay the reopening of pubs in Dublin is “a disgrace”.
“It seems that the government and Nphet just want to ruin the pub sector in this country,” said a spokesman.
Going forward, public health officials will use up to 10 different criteria to determine whether a county should be subject to stricter Covid-19 restrictions.
Under the government’s new plan for living with the virus, Nphet will take into account a number of factors, including the number of new cases over seven and 14 days, before recommending new restrictions for a region of the country.
The group of senior officials and health professionals will also consider the five-day moving average of cases, the community transmission rate and the characteristics of the outbreaks.
Nphet will also examine a county’s ability to handle outbreaks in risky settings, such as nursing homes, and among vulnerable groups such as the homeless and people in direct provision.
The ability of a county to handle new case evidence will also be considered. At the national level, the number of deaths and the resistance of the health service to cope with an increase in cases will be taken into account in any decision made on restrictions.
The international situation of Covid-19 will also be taken into account, as well as other infection prevention measures, such as the adoption of the winter flu vaccine.
Once all these metrics are considered, Nphet will make a recommendation to the government that will be scrutinized by a group of senior public officials and then discussed by Cabinet. A decision can then be made on how to move a county up or down in the new five-tier system of restrictions, with five being the most severe and one being the least.
Yesterday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the situation in Dublin was “worrying”.
“We have seen a situation where the incidence of the virus was as low as five or six per 100,000 for 14 days and now it is reaching about 80,” Varadkar said.
“And although that has not yet led to a drastic increase in people in hospitals or ICUs or deaths, the truth is that it will probably go in that direction if we do not catch up. We observe what is happening in Madrid and in Spain, and we don’t want to go there. “
He added: “There is an opportunity to flatten the curve again in Dublin.
“I think the message for any county that may be heading towards additional restrictions, like Dublin for example, is that if we work together, if we remember the three W [washing hands, wearing a face covering, and watching distance from others], we can get over it. “
Mr. Varadkar said that part of the new plan would involve the government taking more time to consider the recommendations made by Nphet.
He said Nphet had vast experience in medicine and science, but perhaps not so much in running a bus service or a business.
“What the government wants to do more in the future is to take a little time to consider Nphet’s advice to make sure it is practical in the real world.
“We are the politicians and we are the best placed people to do that.”
He said time would also be used to determine how to communicate Nphet’s advice well.
He said, “We don’t want to be rushed into making decisions.
“That will be a different approach and it is a very important part of the new plan.”
Mr. Varadkar has said there is “growing confidence” that a Covid-19 vaccine will be available in the first half of next year.
But he warned that until that happens it will be “a game of cat and mouse” and that “means that the local restrictions of different levels will be activated and deactivated during the next months.”
However, he added: “There is hope on the horizon, much progress is being made regarding the vaccine.
“And I think there is growing confidence that in the first half of the new year we will be in a position to vaccinate the elderly, those most at risk and health workers.
“That could turn things around and change things for the better. But where we are right now, I think we’ll be at least for the next six months, unfortunately.”
Irish independent
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