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Phase Four Delayed Again

Pubs that do not serve food and nightclubs will remain closed until September at least, the Cabinet has decided, in a significant tightening of societal restrictions to curb the recent michealmartin0520

increase of Covid-19 cases in Ireland.

The Government yesterday decided to delay the already-paused phase four of reopening society for a further three weeks.

Besides pubs remaining shut until at least September 1st, the current strict limits of 50 on numbers congregating indoors, and 200 outdoors, will remain in place, a move that disappointed many sporting bodies and wedding venues. The numbers had been due to increase to 100 indoors and 500 outdoors.

In a press conference following the Government meeting, Taoiseach Micheál Martin also announced face masks will become mandatory in all shops and retail centres from Monday, and pubs serving food and restaurants will be required to close at 11pm.

Separately, the Cabinet also decided to remove five states or territories from the “green list” of 15 from which passengers arriving into Ireland would not need to quarantine. They are Malta, Cyprus, San Marino, Gibraltar and Monaco.

Mr Martin justified the decision in light of recent coronavirus figures which have seen the 14-day incidence of cases triple in the last month.

Hoteliers 'Deeply Disappointed'

Hoteliers have expressed their deep disappointment at the decision announced this evening by the Government not to increase the size of indoor gatherings from 10th August. elaina Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, President of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) said: “We recognise the difficult balance the Government has to achieve in reopening the economy, and hoteliers are fully committed to continuing to play our part in ensuring public health is to the fore of everything we do. We have demonstrated this through our strict adherence to the operational procedures developed for our sector and we have been open for four weeks now with no public health issues.”

Pubs claim 'Full Blown Crisis'

Reacting to the decision to keep non-food-serving establishments shuttered for at least another three weeks, publicans say they are now facing a “full-blown crisis”.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) said publicans were now in “fury and despair”, and called for “immediate” aid.

“This is Groundhog Day for the trade as twice now the reopening of pubs has been postponed,” said VFI chief executive Pádraig Cribben, “The Government has effectively denied pubs the ability to trade. As a result it will have to provide substantial supports to our members, many of whom are deeply agitated at what they feel is the State abandoning a vital part of the hospitality sector.”

Donall O’Keeffe, chief executive of the LVA, said pubs have been abandoned:

“We’re repeatedly being told that opening the pubs ‘could lead to an increase in the virus’. Well, when will that not be the case?”

Cruise slump until 2023

Cruise liner visits to Ireland are unlikely to recover fully until 2023, which will lead to a major drop in tourism revenue for ports such as Dublin and Cobh. corkcruise1119

Cobh was due to host 105 liner visits this year and a further 110 liners were booked to tie up there in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit cruise line companies hard and a Government ban on all liner visits to ports remains in place, although some companies are running cruises off the Irish coast.

The chairman of an umbrella body which represents 140 European ports dealing with cruise liners has said if the ban was lifted he could see some smaller liners visiting the country before the end of the year.

Captain Michael McCarthy, chairman of Cruise Europe, said the Irish economy would lose an estimated €60m per year from cruise liner tourism if the ban is not lifted.

Armagh Attractions Return

Several more of Armagh’s top visitor attractions will reopen their doors in August, including Armagh County Museum, Brownlow House and the Market Place Theatre. armagh0820

FE McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge and Armagh’s Navan Fort & Centre reopened this week.

With new safety measures introduced which adhere to government and public and health guidance, Armagh Country Museum opens on Wednesday 12 August from 10am until 4pm and admission is free.

The oldest county museum on the island of Ireland and set in Armagh City’s beautiful tree-lined Mall, its collections capture centuries of stories relating to the people who lived, worked and had connections with this famous city and historic county. With collections ranging from local history and fine art to archaeology and natural history, this is the ideal place to experience a flavour of the famous ‘orchard county’.