Irish Examiner view: The cognitive dissonance of hospitality closures

Omicron restrictions

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, at Government Buildings, Dublin. Picture: Julien  Behal

The ability to hold two mutually contradictory ideas in our collective minds is likely to be sorely tested with looming restrictions on the extent to which we can socialise and enjoy ourselves.

On the one hand, we are being urged to swallow a further punitive constraint on liberty, with highly damaging consequences for hospitality and entertainment businesses, in order to show maximum consideration to our friends and our families and anyone who might be vulnerable to the Omicron variant of Covid-19.