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Dublin residents have been left hanging in a \u201ccruel limbo\u201d by uncertainty around coronavirus restrictions, opposition leaders said.<\/p>\nDublin residents have been left hanging in a \u201ccruel limbo\u201d by uncertainty around coronavirus restrictions, opposition leaders said.<\/p>\n
People\u2019s jobs are in the balance, Sinn F\u00e9in president Mary Lou McDonald said.<\/p>\n
She said the \u201cshambles\u201d of the D\u00e1il\u2019s adjournment following health minister Stephen Donnelly\u2019s illness had compounded that sense of uncertainty.<\/p>\n
She told the Taoiseach: \u201cPeople have lost confidence in your Government\u2019s handling of this emergency, not least in Dublin where you have left people hanging in a very cruel limbo.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are beside themselves, people whose jobs are hanging in the balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Micheal Martin said the Opposition leader knew what the advice was around preventing the spread of coronavirus in Dublin, including encouraging people not to leave the capital.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cYou are doing a disservice to the work of the HSE.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour entire approach to all of this is not to seek clarity, not to amplify public health measures but to undermine them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Government has published its medium term road map for living with coronavirus.<\/p>\n
Ministers recommended that people living in the capital should not travel outside the county to combat the soaring spread of disease there.<\/p>\n
There is a \u201cstrong possibility\u201d severe restrictions could be enforced in the capital by the end of the week, according to the finance minister.<\/p>\n
Paschal Donohoe warned the city could move to level three of the Government\u2019s new blueprint plan to deal with Covid-19, which was unveiled on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
It was confirmed on Tuesday night that Mr Donnelly had tested negative for Covid-19.<\/p>\n
He reported feeling unwell earlier on Tuesday and announced he was being tested.<\/p>\n
This resulted in other members of the Cabinet restricting their movements as a precaution.<\/p>\n
Ms McDonald said the reaction was a shambles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public were left with a real sense of unease, seeing Cabinet unable to work and the D\u00e1il suspended,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin defended his Government\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone acted in good faith,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a precautionary motivation to try and prevent risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no big mystery to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, families whose loved ones died in care homes during the coronavirus pandemic cannot grieve until they get answers about their final days, an Oireachtas committee has heard.<\/p>\n
Brigid Doherty, a member of the expert panel on nursing homes, said the \u201clack\u201d of information about residents\u2019 deaths has been frustrating for families.<\/p>\n
She told the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that there is a \u201chuge gap\u201d in information on how care was provided in the final weeks and days of care home residents\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n
Ms Doherty warned that the huge issue will have implications for the grieving process.<\/p>\n