Covid-19: Businesses facing three-month closure; fears many may never reopen

Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar with environment minister Eamon Ryan and education minister Norma Foley at yesterday's briefing about the new lockdown measures. Picture: Julien Behal

Thousands of businesses face closure for another 12 weeks because of the new nationwide total lockdown announced by the Government.

The move to full lockdown restrictions came as 17 additional deaths were announced, while a further 7,836 cases were confirmed — 2,263 in Dublin, 1,373 in Cork, with the rest spread across other counties.

With schools, construction, and retail subject to closure orders until January 31 “at least", Tánaiste Leo Varadkar warned businesses to prepare for a much longer period of closure, saying some will never re-open.

"If I was running a business now, I would be thinking that it's a probability that I'll be closed until the end of March,” he said.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ireland is “under siege” and facing “a tsunami of infection” as he announced the closure of all schools, save for special-needs children and those sitting the Leaving Certificate. There was immediate criticism of the Government's school plans from the opposition and from teachers' unions, who said the plans are “premature” and were put in place without consultation.

Labour leader Alan Kelly said he spoke to chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan, who made it clear that the Government did not consult with him about the decision to allow Leaving Cert students to attend school.

Labour leader Alan Kelly amplified the concerns of teachers' unions, saying the chief medical officer had not been consulted by Government about their plans to proceed with the Leaving Cert. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The teaching unions also expressed “grave concerns” over the plans to return Leaving Cert students to in-person learning for three days a week, starting on Monday.

The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland said it has not been given “credible” assurances that schools will be safe environments on Monday, while the Teachers’ Union of Ireland said its members do not have the “trust and confidence” that opening schools to students as proposed can be safely achieved.

Education minister Norma Foley defended the decision to allow Leaving Cert students to return to classrooms, saying that 61,000 out of a total of 1.1m pupils is a "very, very small number".

Ms Foley was asked three times on RTÉ Radio 1 if she had sought advice from Nphet or the CMO on returning to school ahead of the Cabinet decision. However, she refused to directly answer the questions.

In addition to the schools, non-essential construction will, with some exceptions, be stopped from 6pm on Friday, and childcare services will close until the end of the month. 

However, they can remain open for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers.

Those arriving into Ireland from the UK and South Africa will soon be required to provide a negative PCR test within the previous 72-hour period and present it to either border officials or gardaí at ports or airports. Failure to do so will be punishable with a €2,000 fine or a possible custodial sentence.

Mr Martin said the restrictions are needed as the country currently has more Covid-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before.

“We simply have to suppress this surge, and flatten the curve," the Taoiseach said.

Meanwhile, Mr Martin welcomed the news of EU approval of the Moderna vaccine. The Government estimates that about 35,000 people will be vaccinated this week, mostly healthcare workers and some people in nursing homes. 

With the approval of the Moderna vaccine, this figure could potentially rise to 60,000 jabs a week in February, and then “much more” when the AstraZeneca vaccine becomes available.