Travellers to Ireland over Christmas will need to show negative coronavirus tests before departure as new restrictions are set to be enacted to tackle the threat posed by the Omicron variant.
This week, the Irish government agreed to new rules on travel in which all people entering Ireland will be required to show a negative result on a professionally administered antigen test 48 hours before arrival or on a PCR test 72 hours before arrival.
The government said that travel operators would be required to carry out pre-boarding checks to ensure all passengers were following the new rules.
The new measures would initially apply for two weeks, with the government hoping to be able to remove them “as soon as possible”.
The measures would also apply to travellers from Britain. Children aged 11 and under would be exempt from the requirements.
The government would also introduce new legislation to re-establish mandatory hotel quarantine.
On Friday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin outlined new restrictions on socialising over the festive period, including new limits on household gatherings and hospitality.
The restrictions will be in place from December 7 to January 9, he said.
In a national address, Mr Martin said: “The risks associated with proceeding into the Christmas period without some restrictions to reduce the volume of social contacts is just too high.”
Among the measures taking effect from next Tuesday include strict social distancing requirements for bars and restaurants.
The rules will mean the hospitality sector will largely revert to the situation preceding October 22, with a maximum of six adults per table and no multiple table bookings.
Mr Martin also said there will now be a maximum of 50 per cent capacity at entertainment, cultural, community and sporting events, with all those attending needing to be fully seated.
Use of the Covid-19 pass will also be extended to gyms, leisure centres, hotel bars and restaurants.
Visits to private homes, he said, should be limited to people from a maximum of three households, although he acknowledged the need for “flexibility”.
“My message this evening is a difficult one,” he said.
“I understand and I share the disappointment and frustration this will cause for many of you.”
Mr Martin said that the appearance of the new Omicron variant as the holiday season approaches is a major cause for concern.
But he said: “This is not about going back to the days of lockdowns.
“Across the country, very many people in the hospitality and entertainment industries will be bitterly disappointed by this news.
“Many of them will be fearing for their livelihoods.
“I want to reassure them that, just as we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, the government will stand by them and ensure that they have the financial supports necessary to weather this latest storm and to stay intact until we are out of it.”
Earlier, the government was said that the number of Covid-19 cases could surge to 15,000 a day after Christmas if the Omicron variant becomes dominant.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said that the new variant could drive up cases during increased social activity over the Christmas period.
In a letter to the government, Nphet said that greater socialising combined with the impact of Omicron could pose a “very real but as yet unquantifiable risk” to the management of Covid-19 over the coming weeks.
Health officials said this presents “serious challenges” for the weeks ahead and that it is “impossible” to quantify the level of risk and its impact.
In the letter, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said that if social contact can be maintained at current levels or marginally decreased, the level of infections per day will remain below 5,000.
However, if social contact increases to levels seen in December last year, cases could surge to between 6,000 and 8,000 cases per day in early January.
If infection-induced immunity is low or evaded by the new variant, a “very large surge is possible”, with a peak of about 8,000 to 15,000 cases per day, Nphet added.
In a pessimistic but “plausible scenario”, Nphet said that between 750 to 1,300 people could need hospital care and up to 400 people would require critical care.
Ireland has so far confirmed one case of the new Omicron variant.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The years Ramadan fell in May
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
India squads
T20: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
Test: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
Key facilities
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- 400m Olympic running track
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
