In a move to tackle rising Covid cases and hospitalisations, all nightclubs, as well as pubs and restaurants, are to have a midnight curfew from this Thursday onwards. This is effectively closing nightclubs, as most clubs only get started around midnight. Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that all licensed premises will have a midnight curfew, through gyms and hairdressers are not under the same restrictions.
These restrictions come despite Ireland having a high vaccination rate, around 90% at the time of writing. There is a sense of frustration around the decision; Donall O’Keeffe, chief executive of the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) told the BBC: “We were told that if we waited until the majority of the public was vaccinated we would be able to get back to trading. Well we waited and that wasn’t enough.” On the LVA’s Twitter, they posted a tweet reading: “Based on this announcement the reintroduction of the full level of supports for the people who will once again find themselves out of work and for the businesses who employ them is essential.”
Based on this announcement the reintroduction of the full level of supports for the people who will once again find themselves out of work and for the businesses who employ them is essential…
AND the Gov must develop nuanced longer term, practical solutions for hospitality
— LVA (@LVADublinPubs) November 16, 2021
Martin, about the restrictions, said in a statement: “We’ve got to make decisions today but also I think collectively as a society we’ve got to look out for each other and just be very aware that the situation is getting worse, and will get worse before it gets better.”
Three months ago, Ireland had announced that they were to lift all restrictions. Now, however, amid a concerning rise in cases in numbers that approached the January peak, they are taking sharp and decisive action. Work from home is being advised, and the rules around testing and close contact have been made more stringent.
The curfew comes less than a month after the lifting of the previous 11:30 pm curfew, made on the 22nd of October. The rise in cases can be explained in part by the lifting of these restrictions, as well as the waning effectiveness of the vaccine. Health officials have commented on the vaccine that it has been less effective than they hoped at limiting the spread of the vaccine, according to Reuters.
The LVA’s Twitter account has been retweeting critics of this move, most notably from Richard Guiney, who says that “we need clear policies for living with Covid. Long term closure with intermittent re-opening doesn’t work for anyone.”
We need clear policies for living with Covid. Long term closure with intermittent re-opening doesn’t work for anyone. What are the conditions and ground rules that we can live by? Or are we looking at permanent restriction and closure? https://t.co/RCL6yEoslT
— Richard Guiney (@GuineyR) November 16, 2021
See official guidelines from the Irish government here.
Image credit: Raymond Flotat
