A NEW YEAR LOCKDOWN
Tánaiste warns: It’s up to us all how long it lasts
THE Christmas break from Level 5 will be short, limited... and we’ll be back in lockdown for the New Year: that was the grim festive season message from Leo Varadkar yesterday.
The Tánaiste said he expects Covid cases to surge over the holiday, leading to a ‘short’ period of ‘enhanced’ restrictions in January.
Mr Varadkar’s cheerless Yuletide message came as it emerged that the country’s brief lockdown exit next month will now come in three stages from Tuesday, December 1.
There is good news for hairdressers, barbers and gyms, and all ‘non-essential’ shopping: they can open from next week, in Phase 1 of the exit plan. The 5km travel ban may also be lifted to
allow inter-county travel. There is also good news for Mass-goers as Churches will be allowed to reopen from next week, and can remain open for the Christmas period.
However, restaurants are not expected to be up and running until the second week of December, under Phase 2 of the exit.
Wet pubs will not reopen at all during December, it is understood. And Phase 3 will see household visits permitted, along with inter-county travel, to allow people to j ourney home to see their f amilies f or Christmas. It is expected this will be announced closer to Christmas Day.
However, the new penalty system is also coming in next week, which will give gardaí the power to fine people for breaking Covid rules.
Cabinet ministers will meet again tomorrow or Friday to finalise the plans for exiting lockdown.
The Tánaiste warned that how people behave over Christmas will determine whether we return to Level 5 afterwards, and how prolonged that will be.
Mr Varadkar said: ‘While we know much more about the virus, it is just as contagious and transmissible as it was before.
‘I believe we should seek to ease restrictions next week but not so much that it requires us to move to Level 4 or 5 for a prolonged period in the new year.
‘A short third period of enhanced restrictions may well be necessary in January or February – but we should try avoid i t being a prolonged one.’
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil that ‘the second wave is not over by any means’.
A further six deaths from Covid and another 226 cases of the virus were confirmed yesterday. Mr
‘No empty pizza boxes on tables’
Martin said: ‘If there is one thing we know now, it is that taking the virus for granted is the foundation for its spread.’
Signalling that all sectors will not re-open, the Taoiseach said: ‘The reality is that for some activities the guidance will be that there is too much risk – and for all activities there are core guidelines and restrictions on how we act, which we must respect.’
The new penalty system will allow gardaí to fine people € 80 for not wearing masks on public transport or in shops. It will also see on-the-spot fines of €500 for anyone caught o r g a ni s i ng an event in a private dwelling or elsewhere. Fines of €150 will apply to those attending an event in a private dwelling, while breaching travel regulations can lead to an on-the-spot fine of €100.
The Government is also expected to apply stricter rules when the country’s restaurants reopen in Phase 2, with food brought in from another premises being barred.
‘ Wet pubs are highly unlikely to open in December, and we won’t be tolerating pubs opening with just pizza boxes on the tables inside,’ one Cabinet minister told the Irish Daily Mail. A special dispensation has been granted to reopen churches which would normally be operating online during Level 3.
‘We are all aware how important it is for so many people to have churches, and other places of worship, open again especially around Christmas time,’ the senior minister told the Mail.
Discussions are ongoing with religious groups about managing flows of people in and out of places of worship, with the likelihood that more services will be put on.
Mr Martin met the country’s four Catholic archbishops at the end of October to begin preparation for how to open churches safely during Christmas period. Outdoor sports such as golf and tennis will also be allowed to take place again from next week. However there’s bad
news for sports fans, with the All-Ireland finals expected to be played behind closed doors and Croke Park to remain shut when Level 5 restrictions lift.
Spectators will not be allowed to watch live sporting events under the new Level 3 lockdown rules.
The National Public Health Emergency Team meets today, earlier than usual, ahead of the expected announcement on Friday by the Government.
Health chiefs will provide their recommendations for reopening to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly this evening, with a special Cabinet meeting being called either tomorrow or Friday to rubberstamp the plan. The Government has still to indicate whether it will be advising people abroad not to return home for Christmas, and to reveal details around how long the household ban will be relaxed for.
Mr Varadkar told the Dáil last night that ‘there are risks associated with international travel… particularly so for travel from areas of high incidence to areas of low incidence’.
Meanwhile, the EU has struck a deal for up to 160million doses of US firm Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, taking the EU’s potential stock of shots to nearly 2billion.
Brussels has already struck deals with AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sanofi- GSK, Johnson & Johnson and CureVac. Ireland is due to receive a share of around 1.6million doses of the Moderna vaccine bound for Europe.
The Government has also joined the EU Advanced Purchase Agreement on procuring vaccines with CureVac. It is the fifth vaccine which Ireland is opting in to, with the country in line to get 2,497,500 doses of the vaccine which does not need ultra-cold storage.
Golf and tennis will be allowed again