The weather has suddenly turned cooler and grey, with highs in the upper 50s F, mid 10s C. Nevertheless, I’ve been compelling myself to get out for walks after work. I’m reaching for my flannel shirts again for the first time in months. Yesterday (Monday), I did a loop out to the Docklands, which I haven’t visited in awhile.
Today Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced a “gradual” and “careful” easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland according to the following timeline:
- Sep 1 — Public transportation returns to 100% capacity.
- Sep 6 — Capacity at live sports / entertainment events increase to:
- 75% at outdoor events for vaccinated attendees, otherwise 50%
- 50% at indoor events for vaccinated attendees;
- 50% capacity allowed for religious services (regardless of vaccination status), and confirmations and communions will be allowed;
- weddings still limited to 100 guests until Oct 22.
- Sep 20 — Phased return to offices; up to 100 vaccinated people can gather indoors for sports and other activities (dance, yoga, bingo, etc.); if not all are vaccinated, people must stay within pods of 6.
- Oct 22 — Most remaining restrictions expected to be eased including mask mandates, COVID vaccination certificate requirement for indoor hospitality, etc.
The easing of restrictions is contingent on the continuing vaccination rollout and the heath care system’s ability to manage the number of hospitalizations from severe COVID cases. As far as vaccinations go, Ireland is expected to have 90% of the population to be fully vaccinated in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the EU has removed six countries, including the US, from a COVID “white list” of places whose tourists should be permitted entry without restrictions such as mandatory quarantine. A majority of EU countries had reopened their borders to Americans in June, in the hope of salvaging the summer tourism season although most required a negative test ahead of travel. The move was not, however, reciprocated by the US. The EU’s white list necessitates having fewer than 75 new cases daily for every 100,000 people over the previous 14 days – a threshold that is not currently being met in the US. (source: The Guardian)
In other news, the Republic of Ireland’s population has exceeded 5 million for the first time since 1851 (prior to the great potato famine). Including Northern Ireland’s population of 1.89 million, the island now has 6.9 million people. An infographic from the Central Statistics Office:
Today my first paycheck from UCD was deposited into my local bank account. It’s a little less than I expected based on my calculations, so I’ll have to go over all the deductions… guess I’m officially an Irish taxpayer now!
Until next time….
