{"id":397493,"date":"2022-01-22T02:05:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T23:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ireland-lifts-most-covid-curbs-as-omicron-infections-fall\/"},"modified":"2022-01-22T02:05:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T23:05:17","slug":"ireland-lifts-most-covid-curbs-as-omicron-infections-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ireland-lifts-most-covid-curbs-as-omicron-infections-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"#Ireland lifts most COVID curbs as Omicron infections fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Ireland lifts most COVID curbs as Omicron infections fall<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin announced Friday most pandemic restrictions will be scrapp<\/a>ed, including early closing times and other curbs on hospitality venues, declaring the country had “weathered the Omicron storm”.\n <\/p>\n

The stringent rules, beefed up last month as the variant prompted a surge of new infections\u2014forcing nightclubs to close over the Christmas period\u2014will be lifted from 0600 GMT Sarturday after new cases and other key indicators eased in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

“I have stood here on many dark days but today is a good day,” Martin said in a televised announcement in Dublin.<\/p>\n

“We’ve concluded that the rationale or justification for continuing most of our public health restrictions are no longer in place. <\/p>\n

“The majority of public health measures that we’ve had to live with will be removed,” he added, while cautioning “the pandemic isn’t over”.<\/p>\n

Ireland only fully reopened in October, after 18 months of rolling lockdowns that then returned in early December.<\/p>\n

Friday’s decision means pubs, bars and restaurants can operate normal trading hours\u2014rather than closing in early evening\u2014and no longer need a COVID pass system or social<\/a> distancing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile indoor and outdoor events will not have any crowd limits imposed on them and different households can gather without restrictions on numbers.<\/p>\n

Employees can also gradually return to workplaces from next week.<\/p>\n

Masks will still be needed in some settings, while self-isolation rules will also remain for now for those who test positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts as well as symptomatic people.<\/p>\n

Ireland, which has a population of around five million people, has recorded more than 6,000 deaths from the virus.<\/p>\n

The country has seen high levels of vaccine uptake, with nearly two-thirds of those aged over five receiving a booster jab in recent months.<\/p>\n

“Ireland’s first class vaccination programme and the rollout of boosters has utterly transformed our situation,” Martin said in his address. <\/p>\n

“It was our vaccinations and boosters that prevented the recent wave of infection translating into much more serious levels of illness and death.”\n <\/p>\n\n

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Ireland introduces 8 pm curfew for hospitality\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2022 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Ireland lifts most COVID curbs as Omicron infections fall (2022, January 21)
\n retrieved 21 January 2022
\n from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news<\/a>\/2022-01-ireland-covid-curbs-omicron-infections.html<\/p>\n

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