The Republic of Ireland has introduced new restrictions targeting pubs, clubs, restaurants and other entertainment venues as COVID-19 infections continue to rise. The government has also warned that stricter measures would be rolled out if necessary.
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Lockdown on the Table
The country’s leader, Taoiseach Michael Martin, announced that pubs, clubs and restaurants will have to close after midnight. Also, vaccine passports will be required to access indoor events and venues, and workers are being advised to request to work from home if they feel unwell.
In an address to the nation, Martin said, the country is not ruling out further and stricter restrictions if cases continue to rise.
I know that no one wants to go back to a world of widespread restrictions. It remains to be seen as to whether these measures will be sufficient to hold back the tide of infection and the hospitalisation. We’re not ruling out any further measures, we’ll keep them under review.
Success Not Guaranteed
As it stands now, fully vaccinated people and those who can prove they've recovered from Covid-19 can travel from Britain to Ireland.
However, people planning on travelling to the republic might want to hold out a bit longer before buying a ticket, as Martin warns that the current rules could change at any time.
I think I’m taking this step by step and we’ll see closer to the end of this month what the scenario will look in December.
While defending his government’s handling of the pandemic so far, Martin repeatedly emphasized that the success of these new measures is not guaranteed.
It is not like we’re back at normal times. We’re not. No one can predict with certainty the journey of this pandemic. Nobody wants to go back. We want to try to keep society open. But we can never be certain. We can never guarantee what the outcome will be because of the nature of the virus.
