Harris says 2 metre rule for hospitality sector may be eased as shops reopen

As thousands of shops reopened and a series of restrictions were eased on Monday after a ten-week shut-down, the Minister for Health has said the two metre social distancing rule for the hospitality sector may be eased in the coming weeks.

Simon Harris said the current two-metre social distancing rule could be changed for pubs, restaurants and hotels, if the number of confirmed cases remains low.

“Two metres is definitely safer than one, however NPHET (National Public Health Emergency Team) have recognised that there may be some settings where the two metres may not be easily applied,” Mr Harris said.

He said the public health advice remained that a physical distance of two metres was safer than one metre but said there may be some settings where the two metre guideline could not be easily applied, such as in the hospitality sector.

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Mr Harris said the issue will be reviewed by Nphet over the next week to two weeks to provide guidance.

“We need to do this in a public health led way, not by ‘he who shouts loudest.’ “What looks slow today, looks prudent in a few weeks. We are showing that we are willing to adapt.

“We are looking at the remaining phases and how best to sequence. It’s not a race, it’s a marathon. We have to plan with caution. We may be able to get the summer back.”

Mr Harris described the reopening as a great day for our country. “It is a day of hope. It is a day that we were not guaranteed to get to.

“There will be grannies and granddads waking up this morning waiting to see their grandkids.

“There will be people heading back to work today who were not sure if they could go back to their job several weeks ago,” he told RTÉ radio.

It also emerged on Monday that the number of people receiving the pandemic unemployment payment has fallen sharply as businesses start to reopen.

There has also been a marked increase in the numbers receiving the temporary wage subsidy scheme as many firms remain unable to pay all the wages of their employees.

The Government said the number of people receiving the €305 pandemic payment was now 515,000, a fall of 27,000 compared to last week while those on the wage subsidy scheme has increased for the fourth week in a row and has now stands at 529,000.

Queues

In Dublin city centre, queues formed this morning outside some shops. Temporary public toilets also opened in the city centre as they remain closed in cafes, restaurants and shopping centres.

There was a long queue outside the Zara store on Dublin’s South King Street, with limited numbers allowed in at a time to accommodate social distancing.

There was a priority queue for older shoppers in several stores, to allow them to shop between 10am and noon.

Customers were told to use the hand sanitiser at the entrance and staff in most shops wore gloves and masks.

A group of friends from Dublin were among the first to enter the Zara store. Sarah Keane (17) said: “They still had a lot of their older winter stock but I’m so glad to be able to shop again and update my wardrobe. I just bought a few summer tops but I’ll go to more shops today - we’re only getting started.

“We weren’t anxious about going into the shops again after all these weeks. We have loads of hand sanitiser and gloves with us and the shops aren’t allowed to be packed.”

The easing of restrictions also allow people to travel up to 20kms from their home, groups of up to six to be able to interact indoors with social distancing, and groups of up to 15 able to meet for outdoor sporting activities.

People who are 70 or older, or are medically vulnerable, will also be able to have visitors in their homes, with social distancing observed and the wearing of masks advised, while up to 25 people will be allowed to attend funerals.

Libraries

As part of the restrictions public libraries can begin reopening as can playgrounds although it was unclear on Monday when this would happen. In Dublin city most playgrounds remained closed on Monday. Fingal and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown said they would start to reopen playgrounds this week once they have been inspected.

Marts may reopen, and horse and greyhound racing can resume without spectators. Mr Harris also defended the government’s timing on the reopening of schools saying that the safety of children had been a priority. The reopening of crèches was also a challenge, he said and they could not open until it was safe to do so.

Health officials confirmed one coronavirus-related death on Sunday and 25 new confirmed cases. It brings the death toll in Ireland to 1,679 and the total number of confirmed cases to 25,201. - Additional reporting PA