Ireland to move to Level 5 for January

So has people’s behaviour changed since the current restrictions have been brought in? I think some but not all. I have changed my behaviour, staying home, and trips out have only been for essential reasons. There thankfully has been a significant reduction in traffic past my front window which correlates with schools being closed.

But my very active retired neighbours still have their adult children and grandchildren visiting. My friend the accountant is still going to her office to work. We are getting some building work done on the site where I work (if I ever get back in) and I was being contacted by some suppliers this week to know if building is stopped. Most seem very keen to wriggle around the “essential” rule in construction.

There is definitely more fear out there and more consequences of higher risk taking. One manufacturing site who I interact with told me in Dec that they were all working in the factory since August, even staff who could work from home. Meetings were again held in person and there was no social distancing. Several staff are now Covid positive and one is in intensive care. My contact in the company told me it was all driven from the top down, all back in, business as usual. Aside from the moral right or wrong I would think if a staff member could prove they caught the virus at work there would be a strong case of suing their employer for damages due to failure to maintain H&S standards.

I am not out and about enough to see first hand if behaviours have changed and people are staying home but it will be interesting to see what NPHET say about traffic levels.
 
In Dublin Bay North area a lot less cars on the road the last week v December (and less even than November) but some of that may be due to the weather.
 
But my very active retired neighbours still have their adult children and grandchildren visiting.
Nothing wrong with that

"No visitors are permitted in private homes or gardens except for essential family reasons such as providing care to children, elderly or vulnerable people, or as part of a support bubble.

To support those who risk isolation, you can form a bubble with 1 other household (of any size) in certain situations.
You can then act as one extended household.
You must still keep physical distance from people outside your support bubble.
Who can form a support bubble
You can form a support bubble with another household if you:
  • are living alone with children under the age of 18
  • live alone

    (...)"

And yes traffic will be significantly down due to school closures and closure of most of the shops.
 
I've been in the office 2-3 days a week since March, nature of what my employer does in supporting key industries such as banks, transport and HSE means I've got a skeleton staff on site most days and nights of the week. (we did move 80% of staff to home working quite quickly but can't do 100%)

One thing that surprised me yesterday was that offices and factories in my industrial estate that were empty in April all seemed to have some staff on site this time round. Traffic is not that much quieter either. Are we all "essential workers" now?
 
One thing that surprised me yesterday was that offices and factories in my industrial estate that were empty in April all seemed to have some staff on site this time round. Traffic is not that much quieter either. Are we all "essential workers" now?
That surprised me as well. We have to stay open as we are catagorised as essential but way more other places open than in April.
 
Effect of Level 5:
THE NATIONAL PUBLIC Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has reported that Ireland’s Covid-19 reproductive number has dropped to between 0.5 and 0.8.
The figure means that every ten people who contract the virus will pass it on to between five and eight other people on average between them...

However, at a briefing given by health officials this evening, he warned that the number would be difficult to maintain in the coming weeks and that Ireland faced a challenge to maintain the suppression of Covid-19.
“I do have to say that this is going to be really difficult to sustain for two reasons,” Nolan said.
“We’re going to find it hard to maintain that very low level of contact.
And secondly, we have a headwind in the form of an increase that prevalence of the B117 variant [from the UK], and because that’s more transmissible, reproduction number is going to drift upwards, even we keep our levels of social contact constant.”

 
In Denmark, the Statens ************************** Institut calculates the British variant of the coronavirus is 36 percent more contagious than the common strain – so not as bad as previously reported. Media in the UK have reported that it is 74 percent more infectious.
Previously it had been calculated that the country could contain the British variant with a Reproduction Rate of below 0.66, but now this figure has been adjusted to 0.8. For the common version, the ideal rate is below 1.0.

 

In a further bid to dissuade unnecessary travel, gardaí could be tasked with increasing their checks at airports and ports and fining people found to have breached regulations for going or returning from a foreign holiday.
Which regulations? Do they mean S.I. No. 448/2020 - Health Act 1947?

The 5km rule is only in regards to Exercise. If I have a reasonable excuse as per listed in above regulation I am not bound by the 5km exercise rule.
And how will they verify what is necessary travel abroad (work, medical appointment, training, family - we both have close family living abroad) and what is holidays - one can and will combine both. I am not dissuaded.
 
If I have a reasonable excuse as per listed in above regulation I am not bound by the 5km exercise rule.
And how will they verify what is necessary travel abroad (work, medical appointment, training, family - we both have close family living abroad) and what is holidays - one can and will combine both.

Essential travel is covered here. They have said they will require documentary proof of essential reason to travel abroad.

I am not dissuaded.

Others aren't either, and that is just prolonging the restrictions.
 
Not a problem :)

The main problem for anyone who has a valid reason with documentary evidence that authorities deem acceptable is that there are likely to be far fewer flights available. Then you have the requirements for clear tests for departure and return and likely quarantine requirements at the destination and when you return. So yeah, not a problem.
 
for others the things you have listed might be problematic - for me not necessarily

Your earlier post suggested you just had close family living abroad that you'd like to visit and combine that visit with a holiday. That doesn't meet the criteria for an essential trip unless there's more to it. They've acknowledged social travel was not being correctly restricted, hopefully the increased checks and fines will dissuade most from trying it.
 
Yes there can be more to it - "attend to vital family matters" is a valid reason. I also mentioned work (my company I work for is providing essential services to others) and training.
Also I can schedule medical appointments abroad stating to any Garda truthfully that is not possible to get an appointment within a reasonable timeframe here. I am also in the Reserve Forces (I am not Irish) and the several exercises which are scheduled for this year are so far not cancelled, some Reservists are volunteering to do contact tracing for two weeks, etc. etc. so I can provide a valid document stating that I am called for an exercise or service.

And by summer it is very likely restrictions are again partially rolled back.

The government can make travelling unattractive and difficult for many by e.g. the tests, mandatory self isolation, etc in order to discourage it. Doubtful travelling can and will be completely stopped though.
 
Yes there can be more to it - "attend to vital family matters" is a valid reason.

The threshold for national and international travel are quite different in relation to 'vital matters', and what authority will provide the necessary documentation to corroborate your assertion your trip is essential?

Also I can schedule medical appointments abroad stating to any Garda truthfully that is not possible to get an appointment within a reasonable timeframe here.

You can't.

I am also in the Reserve Forces (I am not Irish) and the several exercises which are scheduled for this year are so far not cancelled, some Reservists are volunteering to do contact tracing for two weeks, etc. etc. so I can provide a valid document stating that I am called for an exercise or service.

How does that get you on a flight to visit family and take a holiday abroad?

The government can make travelling unattractive and difficult for many by e.g. the tests, mandatory self isolation, etc in order to discourage it. Doubtful travelling can and will be completely stopped though.

They've clearly stated that they have no intention of stopping it completely, but that they will crack down a lot more on the volume of non-essential travel that is happening at the moment. Varadkar has also spoken about reducing the current definitions of essential so that we only have 5-600 people arriving per day, potentially for the next 12 months!
 
Coming summer we will see if I can travel or not - I definitely believe I can and I will travel - in a legal way.
E.g. as stated via travelling abroad for a short training with the armed forces and/or for work or for vital family matters - and then just extending my stay...
 
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Coming summer we will see if I can travel or not - I definitely believe I can and I will travel - in a legal way.
E.g. as stated via travelling abroad for a short training with the armed forces and/or for work or for vital family matters - and then just extending my stay...

In fairness, you would seem to have a lot more legitimate reasons to fly rather than just presenting a bowl of shamrock extracted from a Mayo bog to Joe Biden.
 
E.g. as stated via travelling abroad for a short training with the armed forces and/or for work or for vital family matters - and then just extending my stay...

Hard to see the defence forces providing the necessary documents to support that, let alone send reservists off on foreign training at a time the government are trying to eliminate all non-essential foreign travel.

The vital family reasons one would be very difficult to justify for international travel. Hopefully the more restricted language coming on that front (along with the €500 fines per person for breaches) will make it clear the limited few situations that are considered essential.
 
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