{"id":24791,"date":"2022-01-14T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T15:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24791"},"modified":"2022-01-15T08:06:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-15T13:06:01","slug":"taoiseach-hopes-that-restrictions-can-be-removed-by-end-of-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24791","title":{"rendered":"Taoiseach Hopes That Restrictions Can Be Removed By End Of January"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is meeting next Thursday and will advise the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly on the current restrictions (PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Taoiseach said he is hopeful Covid restrictions can be removed at the end of the month, allowing events and the hospitality sector to open after 8pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is meeting next Thursday and will advise the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly on the current restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miche\u00e1l Martin said the country is making progress against Omicron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would hope that we would be in a position to move forward in terms of the current restrictions, but I\u2019m not in a position yet to say anything definitive about that,\u201d Mr Martin said on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to really see what the public health people are saying, and also having a sense of where Omicron is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo far, I think, so good in respect of the fact that it\u2019s not translating into ICU (intensive care unit) attendances. The case numbers seem to be levelling. So we are hopeful in terms of the progress we\u2019ve made to date.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Friday, close contacts who have had their booster jab and do not have any symptoms will no longer have to isolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are, however, advised to wear a higher grade masks and to continue taking regular antigen tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, T\u00e1naiste Leo Varadkar said he would be reluctant to see any of the current restrictions removed until the number of people with Covid in hospital begins to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think we\u2019d like to see hospital numbers and ICU numbers falling before we feel comfortable about easing restrictions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fine Gael leader said he did not want to speculate on when the restrictions will be removed because it is \u201cnot fair\u201d on people working in events and hospitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat they want is clear messages. And what they want to know is what the new rules are going to be and when they kick in,\u201d Mr Varadkar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat they don\u2019t want is different politicians saying different things and speculating about what might or might not happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I will say is that Nphet is going to meet on January 20th. We\u2019d expect them to provide advice to Minister Donnelly that evening. That will allow Government then to make a decision in the days after that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the hospitality sector will get \u201cdecent advance notice\u201d of any easing of restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Varadkar added: \u201cI think in terms of data, where we\u2019re focusing less on cases and more on the numbers of people in hospital and the numbers of people in ICU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not yet clear that the numbers in hospital has peaked. It\u2019s still over 1,000 and in ICU is just over 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019d like to see hospital numbers and ICU numbers falling before we feel comfortable about easing restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the plan is that the current restrictions remain in place until January 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNphet will meet on the 20th and will advise Government at that point. We should be able to give businesses that are restricted clear information and clarity about what will happen in February well before anything happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

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