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THE Government is to study halving social distancing guidelines to one metre.
It’s understood public health chiefs fought to keep the strict two-metre rule amid yesterday’s sweeping measures to exit lockdown.
The National Public Health Emergency Team did not want to sign off on reducing the distance despite the WHO advising that people stay a minimum of one metre apart.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said guidelines will be issued next week to the hospitality sector on how to implement social distancing.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan added there was no evidence to recommend reducing the twometre rule. A change in the advice will be vital for many firms to survive.
The two-metre guide will drastically reduce the capacity of hospitals and schools while a reduction would be crucial to getting public transport working and to allowing crowds to return to sporting grounds.
Pubs were celebrating after getting the go-ahead to open on June 29 if they serve food, with the rest brought forward from August 10 to the new lockdown exit deadline of July 20.
However, the Vintners Federation of Ireland said many will never open again with the two-metre rule reducing capacity by up to 87% of standing customers and 65% of those seated in a typical bar layout.
Chief Padraig Cribben added: “Altering social distancing guidelines to one metre remains a priority as this would give publicans some chance of running a viable business until a time when social distancing rules no longer apply. So it would simply not be viable for many pubs to run a business.”
Licensed Vintners Association boss Donall O’keeffe said bars will need time to adapt their premises, adding: “We are eagerly awaiting the advice to come from NPHET.”
He stated: “As our recent capacity report showed, utilising the World Health Organisation social distancing guidance of one metre will make a substantial difference to business viability and we hope that will be addressed in the hospitality sector guidance.” Other firms in the tourism and hospitality sector face a similar plight as Dr Holohan has stuck by the two-metre guideline despite mounting pressure.
Several countries have reduced their rules to 1.5 or one metre.
Last week, the Taoiseach defended the need to keep the guideline until levels of the virus have been further reduced.
Meanwhile, officials said the health service is continuing to grapple with Covid-19 outbreaks in congregated settings including Direct Provision
centres, nursing homes
and meat plants. It comes as the head of the HSE warned people are four times more likely to contract the disease when in close contact with a confirmed case.
Chief Paul Reid urged the public to strengthen “our personal vigilance” as the restrictions are eased over the coming months.
He told the HSE weekly briefing that while the number of coronavirus cases is declining, health officials are still working to manage outbreaks in these congregated settings.
Mr Reid said at the end of last month there were 21 Covid-19 outbreaks compared to 49 the previous week – a decrease of 57%.
Dr Mai Mannix, director of public health, added there are now 1,054 confirmed cases in 20 meat plants across Ireland. She said:
“The population affected are primarily young, 58% of cases are aged between 25 and 44 and most are male.”
Dr Mannix added she has “particular concern” in relation to one facility as the number of cases is still rising, claiming all staff may need to be screened.
She also raised difficulties around language barriers in contact tracing, revealing phone calls to some people could take up to one hour as translation services are needed.
Meanwhile, seven more people have died from Covid-19 in the Republic, bringing the death toll to 1,670.
A total of 28 further cases have been diagnosed, taking the overall total to 25,163. Mr Reid also revealed 21,000 people have been tested, with a positivity rate of 1.7%.
He said: “The number of confirmed cases in hospital today is 130 which is a drop of 85% down from the peak in April.
“Eighty-five percent of filled ICU beds are non-covid-19 patients. Many hospitals across our system now have no confirmed cases, and that’s the way we would like to continue it.
“The number of Covid-positive patients in ICU is 37 this morning, down 77% on its overall peak.”
HSE chief clinical officer Colm
Henry added there have been fewer than 400 cases in the last week compared to 4,000 in one week in April.
He said: “We have to be assured as a country that we are keeping the virus under control.”
Mr Reid also told the briefing that hospital services are starting to reopen across the health system but warned the HSE will need capacity, particularly as it prepares to deal with the winter period.
Chief operations officer Anne O’connor added attendances to A&E wards are rising “significantly”.
She said: “We are up overall by 3.1% this week. Where it becomes significant is the over-75s as we have now passed where we were last week.”
We have to be assured as a country that we are keeping the virus under control
HSE CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER COLM HENRY YESTERDAY