Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin announced in a televised address on Friday night that a number of new restrictions were coming into place in order to fight the new Omicron variant. These include restricting indoor events to a 50% capacity, applying to sports games and concerts, as well as limiting private home visits to no more than four households.

These rules are temporary, coming into place from the 7th of December until the 9th of January, completely covering the Christmas period. Martin said that the “risks associated with proceeding into the Christmas period without some restrictions to reduce the volume of personal contacts is just too high.” 

The move is especially frustrating as it was only on the 22nd of October, less than seven weeks ago, that nightclubs in Ireland reopened. Another restriction to Irish nightclubs also came into play on the 17th of November that imposed a midnight curfew in Ireland, effectively closing nightclubs that typically only allow entry after 11pm, in a story covered here on mxdwn last month. Irish clubs had less than a month of regular operation before being hit by Covid restrictions once more.

These new restrictions, however, are not arbitrary, as they are necessary in the fight against the new Omicron variant. More data is coming out about the new variant by the day, but the first real world data is showing that the Omicron variant may evade some of our immunity, weakening the effectiveness of vaccines, as reported by The BBC. Since nightclubs pose the risk of superspreader events, they will be the first against the wall.

Martin acknowledged the impact that this news has on the hospitality and entertainment sectors, that “many of them will be fearing for their livelihoods”, but he was quick to reassure: “The government will stand by them and ensure that they have the financial supports necessary to weather this latest storm and to stay intact until we are out of it.”

The full list of restrictions is available on the Irish government website here.

These restrictions come despite Ireland having a high vaccination rate, around 90% at the time of writing. There is a sense of frustration around the decision; Donall O’Keeffe, chief executive of the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) told the BBC: “We were told that if we waited until the majority of the public was vaccinated we would be able to get back to trading. Well we waited and that wasn’t enough.” On the LVA’s Twitter, they posted a tweet reading: “Based on this announcement the reintroduction of the full level of supports for the people who will once again find themselves out of work and for the businesses who employ them is essential.”

Based on this announcement the reintroduction of the full level of supports for the people who will once again find themselves out of work and for the businesses who employ them is essential…

AND the Gov must develop nuanced longer term, practical solutions for hospitality

— LVA (@LVADublinPubs) November 16, 2021

Martin, about the restrictions, said in a statement: “We’ve got to make decisions today but also I think collectively as a society we’ve got to look out for each other and just be very aware that the situation is getting worse, and will get worse before it gets better.”

Three months ago, Ireland had announced that they were to lift all restrictions. Now, however, amid a concerning rise in cases in numbers that approached the January peak, they are taking sharp and decisive action. Work from home is being advised, and the rules around testing and close contact have been made more stringent.

The curfew comes less than a month after the lifting of the previous 11:30 pm curfew, made on the 22nd of October. The rise in cases can be explained in part by the lifting of these restrictions, as well as the waning effectiveness of the vaccine. Health officials have commented on the vaccine that it has been less effective than they hoped at limiting the spread of the vaccine, according to Reuters.

The LVA’s Twitter account has been retweeting critics of this move, most notably from Richard Guiney, who says that “we need clear policies for living with Covid. Long term closure with intermittent re-opening doesn’t work for anyone.” 

We need clear policies for living with Covid. Long term closure with intermittent re-opening doesn’t work for anyone. What are the conditions and ground rules that we can live by? Or are we looking at permanent restriction and closure? https://t.co/RCL6yEoslT

— Richard Guiney (@GuineyR) November 16, 2021

See official guidelines from the Irish government here.

Image credit: Raymond Flotat