BACK ON THE ROAD IN JUNE
Inter-county travel ‘to return in six weeks’ after bank holiday
SUMMER breaks in Ireland may be possible within weeks, with the Taoiseach expected to announce tomorrow that the intercountry travel ban will be lifted after the June Bank Holiday weekend.
The Irish Daily Mail can reveal that the lifting of the restrictions on travel between counties will come a little earlier than was previously hoped – with staycations on the cards from June 7, when hotels and B&Bs are also expected to reopen.
Sources in the Government and NPHET told the Mail last night that they hope an announcement by Micheál Martin this week will clear the way for the ban on travel between counties and other tourism restrictions to be lifted after the June bank holiday.
Despite pressure from within his party to immediately lift the travel
ban, Mr Martin told Cabinet colleagues yesterday that the Covid-19 inter-county travel ban will remain in place until June.
A Cabinet minister said last night: ‘At the moment, and with the advice of NPHET, we are looking to lift this ban after the June Bank Holiday.
‘That means we will get over a long weekend where an awful lot of Covid-19 spreading could occur,’ said the minister, ‘but people can go on and enjoy their summer.’
It is expected that after this milestone date, hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses and caravan parks will also be given the green light to open.
The Government is, however, reluctant to speculate on pub and restaurant reopening dates, but this may come on a gradual basis later in the month of June.
Offering further hope on a return to normality, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told RTÉ’s Prime Time last night that the country’s progress in suppressing the virus could see things open up sooner than planned.
He said: ‘Because we’re ahead of the best-case scenario we were given in the Covid committee when these decisions were made last month, it means all the things put on the table for May can be delivered which is really good news. It’s certainly something that can be looked at.
‘There’s pressure building right across the board. I can’t preempt when [it will be introduced].
‘The Taoiseach is also talking about for June looking at hospitality and there’s an awful lot of desire and pent-up desire in the country for these things to open.’
However he wouldn’t be drawn on whether pubs and gastropubs will be treated the same when restrictions ease, saying: ‘I don’t have an expectation on it yet because we haven’t gotten the advice from NPHET.’
On the vaccine front, the minister said despite disruption and delays, he was confident the Government could still hit its June target of 80% of the population receiving at least one vaccine dose.
He said: ‘The HSE has assured me that the capacity is in place but they’re very ambitious targets and we have every intention of hitting them.’
Mr Donnelly added that people aged over 50 would not be given a choice between the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccine and would have to take whatever jab was offered to them, adding: ‘The reality is we got to keep the vaccine programme moving as fast as possible.’
A NPHET source told the Mail: ‘We are likely to express our preference for lifting inter-county travel after the June Bank Holiday. It will prevent a mad dash for the roads.’
However, there was significant pressure from within Micheál Martin’s own party for accelerated reopening last night. Minister for State Niall Collins called for the inter-county ban to be lifted immediately.
Fellow Fianna Fáil junior minister, Anne Rabbitte, also called for the inter-county ban to be lifted.
A minister who attended Cabinet yesterday said: ‘It was one of the most optimistic meetings we have had in a long time.
‘I think all the figures are going in the right direction in advance of the NPHET meeting, and we will be able to announce a significant easing of restrictions.’ The good news comes as Mr Martin admitted that while ‘a number of weeks’ have been lost due to the changes to the vaccine rollout, it is now ‘full steam ahead’.
Cabinet has approved a recommendation from public health chiefs that the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines be administered to the over-50s.
The single-shot Johnson & Johnson jab, also known as the Janssen vaccine, has been granted approval for use among this age cohort, while the restrictions on the use of AstraZeneca have been revised from over-60s only to those over-50s.
The decision by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee to give the go-ahead for the use of the Johnson & Johnson jab to people over the age of 50 signals a positive turn in the Government’s vaccination programme. The expert group also relaxed its restrictions around the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to include those over the age of 50. Previously, it was limited to the over-60s.
Mr Martin admitted yesterday that there has been a reduction in delivery forecasts for the J&J jab, but said they remain ‘broadly on target’ for the expected 600,000 doses due in quarter two.
Mr Donnelly, meanwhile, described the changes to the rollout to allow a wider age cohort to avail of some vaccines as ‘really good news’.
Speaking at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, he said: ‘Essentially it means we can keep doing what we’re doing, which is
‘Comprehensive statement’
keep getting the vaccines out to people as quickly as possible.’
Mr Donnelly said it looks like around 700,000 vaccinations will have been administered in April. This is 160,000 short of the original target.
Mr Martin said the Government will make a ‘comprehensive statement’ tomorrow on plans to reopen society and the economy. NPHET will meet today to finalise its advice to Government on exit from lockdown ahead of a special Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
There were ten further deaths of people infected with Covid-19 and 426 new cases reported yesterday.