The Irish cabinet has agreed that hospitality venues, cinemas and theatres should have a closing time of 20:00 from Sunday to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) had originally recommended a 17:00 cut off from Monday.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke at a televised address on Friday evening.
He said the Omicron variant represented a “significant threat” to the Republic.
He said more than a third of new cases in recent days in the country were due to the new variant.
“The Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus is exploding through Europe,” Mr Martin said.
“It is here, it is in our country and we are going to see a massive rise in infections.
“It spreads so aggressively throughout all age groups that we are likely to see infections at a rate that is far in excess of anything we have seen to date – it is that serious.”
The cabinet has agreed that the measures will stay in place until 30 January, with that date being kept under review.
Other measures agreed on Friday include:
Number of spectators allowed to attend sporting events to be capped at 50% capacity, up to a maximum of 5,000 people.
Weddings will have a cut-off time of midnight and an attendance cap of 100
Enhanced restrictions on movement for close contacts – those with a booster vaccine obtained over a week ago will be restricted for five days and have to take three antigen tests, while those without a booster will be restricted for 10 days, with the HSE to decide on the best testing regime for those people.
No changes to domestic travel arrangements and no change to four households visit restriction.
#hospitality #ireland source : BBC
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