Reopening of indoor hospitality delayed 'to avoid another Covid tragedy'
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The Government has postponed the reopening of indoor hospitality until after July 19 in a bid to avoid "another Covid tragedy".
In a lengthy press conference, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste outlined the stark advice they received from Nphet on the more contagious Delta variant that prompted the Government to delay the reopening and plan for a Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
Bars and restaurants now unable to reopen on July 5 will instead receive two double weeks of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS). Hospitality staff who were planning on returning to work can re-enrol for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
The Government has also cancelled all planned communion and confirmation ceremonies.
Based on modelling from England, the Government was given four scenarios which warned that thousands of people could potentially die in Ireland should the new variant take hold when so many are still unvaccinated.
"If 1,000 people get the Delta variant, perhaps three will die as a consequence of it," Leo Varadkar said.
"The problem is 0.3% of a very large number is a very large number, and if we had 500,000 or 600,000 of the unvaccinated population getting this virus, we could find ourselves in the middle of another Covid tragedy."
Under new plans being considered, only those who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 will be able to avail of the certificate to allow for indoor dining and other activities. Nphet advised that a PCR test should not be considered for entry to activities.
No set plan has been outlined by the Government yet ahead of meetings with stakeholders and unions, but they hope to have a plan in place by July 19.
The proposal is to allow people who are fully vaccinated to meet indoors, not just in restaurants and bars but also in other venues like theatres and music venues.
The Government said the only other alternative to this decision is a prolonged delay until the State reaches herd immunity and with the emergence of new variants very likely, health experts cannot say when that would be.
It is hoped the proposal from Nphet will act as a pathway for the hospitality, arts and entertainment sectors to reopen and stay open throughout future waves of the pandemic.
"The policy was initially, originally, not to have a policy in terms of domestic services and access to facilities, and so on, around whether one was vaccinated or not," the Taoiseach said.
"As I said, there are many twists and turns in this Covid story, particularly the arrival of a much more transmissible variant creates challenges in terms of indoor settings.
"We've got advice in relation to it, and we simply have got to work with it."
The Taoiseach acknowledged the contradiction in letting unvaccinated people work in indoor hospitality but not avail of the services themselves but noted employers would work to ensure their staff's safety and staff would be wearing masks.
The idea of people being fined for visiting hospitality without a certificate "hasn't entered into consideration yet at all. We don't want to, in this context, bring in a punitive regime."
Mr Varadkar said the news comes as "a difficult change".
"It's not one that I think anyone up here is delighted or enthusiastic about, but the alternative is to keep these services and facilities closed until we reach herd immunity, and we can't say when that is," he said.
"It's not undoable, but it is difficult, and it does have consequences and I know for some people they will feel that that is divisive, that they're being left outside when others can go inside."
The Government has announced an unlimited amount of fully vaccinated households can now meet indoors, while thousands of people will be eligible for their vaccines sooner than originally thought.
New Niac guidance means those awaiting their first dose are going to get it sooner, as will those who are waiting on the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The State will now give all vaccines to all age groups, because "the benefits clearly outweigh the risks", the Tánaiste said.
Pharmacists met with the HSE Tuesday to start discussions around vaccinating younger people as well as the over-50s.
About 800 pharmacies are giving the single-shot Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine but only for older people following a deal with the HSE.
However, Niac said Tuesday this vaccine can be used for anyone over-18.
Irish Pharmacy Union secretary-general Darragh O’ Loughlin said: “I would say it was a positive and constructive meeting.”
The HSE must wait for a formal decision on the Niac advice from the chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan before committing to any changes, he said.
Mr O' Loughlin expects to meet with the HSE again before the end of the week.
“We’ve had more queries in pharmacies from under-50s than those people over-50,” he said.
“We are delighted with the new Niac advice.”