Ireland delays lifting Covid curbs on indoor dining

DUBLIN: Ireland will delay lifting indoor dining restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19, prime minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday, blaming the pause on the new Delta variant.

Martin said the government had chosen to delay the return of indoor dining from a planned date of July 5 while it looked to implement a new system for vaccine certification to allow indoor use of restaurants and pubs.

No new date was given but Irish media reported a full opening was now expected on July 19.

"Given the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant, the safest way to now proceed with the return to indoor hospitality is to limit access to those who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid," Martin said.

He explained that to allow Irish hospitality, which has been hit particularly hard in the pandemic, to reopen as early as possible the government would "work urgently with the relevant sectors to agree a practical and workable approach".

The Taoiseach said numbers permitted at outdoor events will increase as planned, with up to 500 attendees at larger stadiums, while limits on visits between households for individuals that have received a vaccine were also lifted.

Individuals were told to continue working from home where possible and the number of people attending wedding will increase to 50.

The move by Ireland brings it closer in line with England, where the government has pushed back plans to lift restrictions in July because of the Delta variant which originated in India.

Most other members of the European Union have pushed ahead with reopening indoor dining.

Martin said Ireland, which has a population of five million, had administered a total of four million doses of vaccines.

"We're in a race between the variants and the vaccine," he said.

According to the latest government figures, the country on Monday saw an increase of 305 daily coronavirus cases, with 271,589 in total and 4,989 deaths.