Galway’s sigh of relief as restrictions ease

After 681 days of restrictions, thousands of confirmed Covid-19 cases and 170 virus-related deaths in Galway – 2.8% of Ireland’s 6,087 Covid death toll – the lifting of most pandemic regulations that impacted every aspect of life has been widely welcomed.

The need to wear masks in retail and public transport remains, and people with Covid-19 or symptoms of it are still required to self-isolate, but other curtailments on freedom are now gone.

An industry severely impacted by the Pandemic – hospitality – was among the first to enjoy the benefits of the ‘new beginning’ as local bars, restaurants and nightclubs were thronged at the weekend.

There were reports of cheering in public houses across Galway on Friday evening, during An Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s live address on RTÉ News, confirming the easing of restrictions with effect from 6am Saturday.

The speed of the reopening took many by surprise, but it followed advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) that Ireland had weathered the fifth wave of the virus – the Omicron storm – and there was no public health reason to retain restrictions.

Gone are the digital vaccine passes to gain entry to hospitality, the need to take names of customers for contact tracing, the 8pm closing time curfew which effectively closed nightclubs, social distancing indoors, limits on tables, and bans on bar counter drinking.

Gone too are restrictions on attendances at sports venues and limits on indoor gatherings including places of worship, cinemas, theatre and other venues.

As of Monday, Government signalled that “a return to physical attendance in workplaces can commence on a phased basis appropriate to each sector”. It has cleared legislation that will make it easier for workers to continue remote working, or a hybrid, rather than full return to workplaces.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, attending Cabinet, Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton (FG) said the country breathed a collective sigh of relief.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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