'Enhanced restrictions' may be needed this winter, warns Leo Varadkar

Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar. File Picture: Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Early closing times for pubs, nightclubs and restaurants are to be imposed by government in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Ministers agreed to midnight closures in the hospitality sector from Thursday as virus case numbers continue to surge.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that "enhanced restrictions" may be needed in the winter. Speaking in Dubai, Mr Varadkar told Virgin Media News that vaccine immunity is waning and that the regime will be three doses.

"Unfortunately and it's hard to say this, but the situation is difficult and we're going to have to get through a difficult winter."

The move will be a hammer blow for the sector, just weeks after nightclubs reopened after a 19-month shutdown.

The decision comes on the day that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was cut by €50, sparking a question among ministers about whether applications for the payment should be reopened.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland is also calling on the Government to trigger the re-activation of the CRSS (COVID Recovery Support Scheme) for hospitality "impacted by the decline in business due to mixed messaging by Government".

"The narrative of reducing social contacts is de-facto imposing restrictions on Hospitality businesses at a critical time for the sector in the run up to Christmas," a statement said.

Ministers have been discussing a proposal that would see closing times returned to midnight in the hospitality sector. 

The Cabinet is also discussing how new rules around pods in schools will work and whether or not to use antigen tests in education settings.

Cabinet has also agreed to roll out booster vaccines for over 50s, with the Taoiseach saying that there will be capacity to deliver 230,000 doses a week in the run up to Christmas.

The meeting also agreed new rules around isolation for household contacts of positive cases. Those who live with someone who tests positive will have to isolate for five days and take three antigen tests, regardless of vaccination status.

Covid certs will be needed legally for theatres and cinemas, though many of these premises had been using them to ensure 100% capacity thus far.

Cabinet, however, pulled back from a suggestion that they would be needed for barbers, hairdressers and gyms.

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Sources said that the modelling outlined to Ministers was "scary" and "stark", saying that numbers have "shot up" in the last week, meaning that something needs to be done.

One senior source said that additional restrictions will be necessary if cases numbers stay high in a bid to protect ICU capacity.

In what was described as a “stark and grim” warning at a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee, ministers were told that up to 500 people could need intensive care treatment by December under a worst-case scenario.

The best-case scenario, the meeting heard, is that between 200 and 220 ICU beds will be needed.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he expects the use of Covid-19 booster vaccines to be extended significantly as the evidence for boosters is “incredibly strong”.

Mr Donnelly said the latest Covid projections are very stark and efforts must be made to get to grips with the surge.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

“The situation was one that demands fairly quick action in terms of easing that pressure on the hospital system. Case numbers are very high. We have to make decisions but collectively as a society, we have to look out for each other. The numbers will get worse before they get better,” Mr Martin said.

“The situation is very concerning. There is an obligation to reduce our social mobilisation. We have to limit the spread of the disease and that is up to all of us,” he said.

'It is a very, very grim situation. We are at a stage where our hospitals are pretty much full,' according to Anne O’Connor, the chief operations officer of the HSE. File Picture:: Leon Farrell/Photocall

In addition to extending boosters to those aged 50 to 59, shots are also to be approved for thousands of people under the age of 50 who have underlying conditions.

Mr Donnelly said that it is “all hands on deck” in rolling out the booster shots.

The meeting of the Cabinet’s Covid sub-committee heard significant criticism of the HSE from ministers over delays in the booster campaign, and Defence Minister Simon Coveney offered the use of the army to aid in the battle against the current surge.

The booster campaign is one leg of a series of proposals that will come before Cabinet today.

The sub-committee also moved to expand the use of digital Covid certificates beyond hospitality to gyms, hairdressers, and barbers. 

And, eight months after it was first recommended, Cabinet will also approve an antigen testing system which is to be introduced in schools.

It is believed that the plan will focus on rolling out the tests in secondary and primary schools for students who have come in contact with classmates who tested positive for Covid-19.

A subsidy is also to be provided to encourage people to use the tests in the general population.

Another proposal will see mask-wearing required in both indoor and outdoor crowded areas in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

The sub-committee meeting heard a “stark” description of the current pressure on the health system which has seen hospitals move to a “surge capacity” scenario.

Before the meeting took place, the Department of Health confirmed a further 4,570 cases of Covid-19 with the number of patients in hospital with the virus topping 600 for the first time since February.

It is expected that mask-wearing in crowded areas, both outdoors and indoors, will become mandatory. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

According to the latest figures, there are 622 patients with the virus currently in hospital. Some 119 patients are in intensive care. The last time the figure was higher was on February 24, when 625 patients with Covid were in hospitals.

HSE chief operating officer Anne O’Connor said the situation in the health service is “very, very grim.”

There were only 94 beds available across the country, she added: 

We are experiencing significant pressure across the country. The incidence of Covid is rising in all of our catchment areas. It is a very, very grim situation. We are at a stage where our hospitals are pretty much full. 

Speaking earlier yesterday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin had said boosters, testing, and public behaviour were the keys in containing the virus once again.

“It’s not just about Christmas, it’s about getting through this phase,” he said when pressed about the possibility of a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown in the coming weeks.

“It’s about the impact on society, people’s health and the health service. So I think we need to take it steady and step by step.

“Previously it was the main hospitals under pressure, now it was all hospitals that were under significant pressure. We are certainly very concerned and the lack of visibility on how long this will go on for is a particular concern.”

The president of the Intensive Care Society of Ireland (ICSI) said that Irish hospitals are in a notably serious situation due to rising numbers of Covid cases across the past few weeks. Dr Colman O'Loughlin, who is also a consultant in Dublin’s Mater Hospital, said the present scenario is “grim": 

"I was talking to Paul Reid. I don’t think grim was the word we used — we used stronger words than that”, Dr O’Loughlin said: 

Just under 50% of our ICU beds and critical care beds in the Mater are taken up by Covid patients at the moment, so it’s next to impossible to try and run a normal health system with that going on.