Easing out of lockdown

JUMPSTART: DUBLIN SHOPS REOPEN AFTER SIX-WEEK HIATUS Store director says trading online does not make up for shops not opening.

Dublin thronged with masked Christmas shoppers on Tuesday, as Ireland ended a second partial coronavirus lockdown, allowing nonessential retail to resume after six weeks of tough restrictions.

Dozens queued for the midmorning reopening of upmarket department store Brown Thomas, festooned with seasonal decorations in the epicentre of the capital’s shopping district.

Amidst tables of designer handbags one customer confided in staff that she had taken the morning off work to shop.

“It’s been very difficult,” said Brown Thomas stores director Mark Limby of the six week hiatus. “We have been trading online – that’s been exceptionally good for us. It doesn’t make up for the stores not being open.”

As Ireland loosened virus curbs, in place since 22 October, museums, galleries, libraries, cinemas and places of worship also reopened. Close-contact services such as hairdressers and tattoo parlours were also allowed to resume trade.

Ryan Kelly, co-owner of tattoo parlour Heartbreak Social Club, opened a second shop in October as Ireland was on the cusp of returning to a partial lockdown.

It traded for one day before the shutters came down.

“We knew it would be a challenge but opening today we’re busy,” said Kelly. “There’s not really much worse situations we could face in the future.”

Neighbouring George’s Street Arcade – home to 40 independent retailers – closed for the first time since 1892 in March, when Ireland entered its first lockdown. On Tuesday shopkeepers returned for the second time.

Owner Gwen Layden said she did not charge rent during the closures.

“The mood is very different,” she said, gesturing to other shops which have not reopened.

“There are shutters all around me here ... something happened that they’re not reopening.

“That’s a lifetime of somebody having invested in their business and that might be over for them.”

Pubs and restaurants serving food will open across Ireland today, although drinking-only establishments will remain closed.

Ahead of Christmas, the government is urging people to wear masks outdoors on “busy streets”.

In central Dublin, noticeably more pedestrians were sporting masks, while inside shops they are mandatory.

Infection rates are bound to rise in the run-up to the festive season, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told state broadcaster RTE on Monday. “The challenge is to keep that increase as low as possible.”

According to the latest official figures, there have been 2 053 deaths from coronavirus in Ireland. The daily death toll peaked at 77 in mid-April and in recent weeks has frequently remained in the single digits.