Ireland has imposed new restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, including an 8pm curfew for pubs and restaurants until the end of January and limits on the number of people able to attend weddings and sporting events.
The controversial measures, a week before Christmas, were nonetheless less severe than had been recommended by the National Public Health Advisory Team (NPHET), which had urged hospitality venues to shut at 5pm.
Health experts say Omicron now accounts for 35 per cent of cases and was rising exponentially. On Thursday, Stephen Donnelly, health minister, said it accounted for 27 per cent.
“None of this is easy. We are all exhausted with Covid,” Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in a televised address. “But it is the reality that we are dealing with. We cannot wish it away and there is no silver bullet to fix it.”
Publicans had expressed outrage at the recommendations to close bars at 5pm.
“Christmas has been cancelled for our industry,” Donal O’Keefe, chief executive of Ireland’s Licensed Vintners Association, told RTÉ radio…
