The Irish Government wants to lift
some of the Covid19 lock-down measures on May 5th and is working on
plans to make that happen but says it cannot be certain now what form those
plans may take.
However, large events involving
5,000 people or more – such as music concerts and festivals – and that require
a court licence are off until September.
That measure has been agreed by the
Government so the companies organising the events have plenty of time to cancel
or reschedule.
For now, sports events are not
included in that longer term restriction. Plans to ban, limit or permit sports
events of different sizes will be announced closer to May 5th, when
the current round of restrictions expire.
Minister for Education Joe McHugh
has said the Leaving Cert may start on July 29th.
Advertisement
That is a strong indication the Government is working towards some events involving a large number of people all over the country, and which take place indoors, being possible this summer.
The Leaving Cert aside, the Government
is expected to make a statement before May 5th about how outdoor and
indoor events could take place in coming months.
Such a statement would immediately make it clear if group rides or even racing will be permitted at some point in the weeks or months ahead, and when precisely that might be.
Before the current round of restrictions was introduced a less stringent set of restrictions was in place. It allowed people exercise with no limits on how long, or how far from home, they could go.
Related News
Outdoor events with fewer than 500 people were allowed and indoor events of 100 people or less were also permitted.
If a return to those restrictions was decided in the weeks or months ahead, group rides and even racing might be allowed, but with measures such as outdoor changing and sign-on.
However, it is not clear at this time if Ireland will return to the less stringent restrictions in the weeks or months after May 5th.
It also remains unclear if there may be an initial partial return to those less stringent restrictions, followed by further relaxation of measures to follow.
What is clear, however, is that the Government is confident progress is being made in the fight against Covid19.
And, on that basis, it wants to lift some of the restrictions in place at present and is working on a plan in the hope of achieving that immediately after May 5th.
What form that hoped-for relaxation
of measures might take is expected to be set out on an address to the country
by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar towards the end of next week.
Asked by Miriam O’Callaghan on RTE 1’s Prime Time on Tuesday night if some restrictions would be lifted when the current period expires on May 5th, Varadkar said: “That’s what I’m hoping.”
He continued: “When I stand up before the Irish people in early May, that’s what I want to be able to say, but I don’t want to give that false assurance now.”
He said to enable some restrictions to be lifted, there were three areas the Government needed to monitor closely and ensure they were going in the right direction to keep the virus as controlled as possible.
“Is the rate of increase of the
virus improving? It is at the moment, that could change though. Will the
hospitals have the capacity to deal with a surge if things go wrong? That looks
good right now.
“And then, do we have the testing
and tracing in place? That’s not quite there yet. But they are the three things
that we have to get right; that have to go our way, if you like."
Topics
