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11th Sep 2020

Tighter Covid restrictions considered for Dublin by NPHET

Jade Hayden

Taoiseach Micheál Martin is “very concerned” by the increase in cases.

Tighter restrictions are being considered for Dublin by NPHET.

The National Public Health Emergency Team wants to introduce further restrictions for the capital due to the rising number of Covid cases.

RTÉ News reports that the group will recommend new measures on household visits, reducing the number to six visitors from two households rather than three.

The group is also hoping to make the reopening of pubs on September 21 contingent on the spread of the virus in Dublin, and to introduce new visiting measures in care facilities.

If accepted by the government, these new measures would be implemented for three weeks.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he is “very concerned” by the rising number of cases in the country’s capital.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, he said that local responses to the virus will be made as “part of a suite of options open to NPHET,” as they were with Kildare, Laois, and Offaly.

“This is a concerning time,” he said, “but we’ve learned lessons from what we’ve done in the past.”

This comes after NPHET chair Professor Philip Nolan said that virus cases in Dublin have the potential to double every 14 days.

“We are seeing increasing case numbers in Dublin, growing close to 5% per day,” he said. “If this were to continue, the number of cases would double every 14 days.

“While the reproduction number for Ireland as a whole is close to 1.0, the reproduction number for Dublin alone is approximately 1.4.

“Given the size of Dublin’s population it’s essential we prevent any further spread now, by limiting our social contacts and taking precautions during any essential contacts.”

The government’s new plan for living with Covid is expected to be published next week.

Topics:

covid,news