The Level 5 measures announced this evening take effect from midnight TONIGHT, December 30, with the sole exception of the retail restrictions and gyms/leisure/pools which will shut from close of business tomorrow. @VirginMediaNews
There are to be no gatherings, indoor or outdoor - other than small numbers at funerals and weddings, or for outdoor exercise where people can meet with ONE other household.
Professional and elite sports will remain behind closed doors, but no other matches or events will take place.
Other than meeting with one other household for exercise, there is to be no other sporting training or events.
Religious services will remain online-only, with weddings continuing for groups of 6 (from Jan 3rd onwards) and funerals from 10.
Cultural venues are closed.
Restaurants can operate take-away only. Pubs are closed.
People away from their place of residence on 31 December (i.e. if you're gone "home home" for the holidays) are permitted to return to their place of residence.
The 5km rule applies from midnight tonight, with the following (non-exhaustive) exceptions:
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☝🏻 Correction: 504 in hospital, of whom 47 are in ICU
Today's figures have a note from Philip Nolan on the gap between swabs and cases:
"Positive tests detected in laboratories require validation (to remove duplicates and other tests that do not create new cases) and transfer to the HPSC database before confirmation and reporting…
NEW: NPHET tells Govt that even if R is reduced to 1.4 from yesterday, case numbers will rise to 2000+ daily by Jan 9, and 3000 daily by Jan 23… by which point the number of cases in hospital would surpass 1000.
For context on that: that's double the 490 cases in hospital this lunchtime, and would amount to occupying almost EVERY spare public hospital bed in Ireland.
Yesterday morning, for example, there were 623 available beds across the public hospital system.
Confirmed at post-Cabinet press conference (now underway) that the proposed cuts to PUP from February 1 will *NOT* take place - rates will be remain at current levels until end of March at least
This is put to the Taoiseach. "Schools will reopen on January 11th."
He says the delay gives school communities a chance to deep-clean their facilities and pursue whatever other resources they need.
Taoiseach estimates today's measures will mean another 40,000 people having to access the PUP. He says Budget 2021 set aside a contingency fund for purposes like this
Taoiseach speaking now. "On Christmas Eve we received the news we had feared - confirmation that the new strain is indeed in our country… we are dealing with a strain of the disease that spreads much much more quickly" and quicker than any previous model
"The numbers will deteriorate further over the coming days… we will do what we need to do to suppress the virus when it is growing, and it is now growing expoentially"
Taoiseach: "We must return to full-scale Level 5 restrictions for a period of at least one month."
No visitors permitted to private homes from TONIGHT unless part of a support bubble, or for caring purposes
@President_MU: "The reproduction number remains very high and is currently estimated at 1.6-1.8. The growth rate is estimated to be 7-10% per day with a doubling time of 7-10 days"
@CMOIreland: "Ireland is no longer in a containment phase and is once again in a mitigation phase"
Ministers at Cabinet will consider:
🚗 reducing travel back to 5km from home
🏡 forbidding household visits
🏪 closing non-essential retail
🏋️ shutting gyms
to stop spread of third wave.
Household visits ban may take effect from midnight tonight @VirginMediaNews
The other measures may take effect in a number of days but the household visits ban will be brought forward in an effort to stop any inter-household gatherings on New Year’s Eve, which has been identified as a major risk for further spreading.
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals stood at 424 last night, up from 235 only a week ago, and is higher than at any point in the second wave.
The positivity rate of swabs analysed on Monday was 14.5% - the highest since the original outbreak in spring.