The coming weeks are critical.

That’s the message from health chiefs this evening as a range of adjustments to the current public health advice regarding Covid-19 are confirmed.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has revealed that a further 190 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the past 24 hours.

Speaking after almost three hours of discussion in Cabinet this afternoon, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin told a long-delayed press briefing that, on the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) a raft of changes are being introduced up until Sunday, September 13th at the earliest including:

• Social gatherings

Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 15 people, a sharp decrease on the 200 currently permitted. Indoor gatherings at home will be limited to six people from no more than three households (except cafés, shops and restaurants) with Gardaí to be given special powers to enforce rules when it comes to house parties and pubs.

• Weddings and mass 

It is understood that mass and weddings of up to 50 people are to be exempt from the social gathering guidelines.

• Remote working

All businesses should advise employees to work from home where possible until September 13th.

“We are at another critical moment.” the Taoiseach said.

“If we want to limit the number of people who get seriously ill or die because of the virus, we need to follow these public health measures.”

• Avoid public transport

The public is advised to avoid public transport wherever possible in the coming weeks.

• Sporting events

Planned sporting events will take place without spectators for the time being, up until Sunday, September 13th at the earliest.

• Advice for the elderly

Elderly and vulnerable people have been advised to limit their interactions with other people and avoid public transport, taking extra care when visiting public places, such as supermarkets, and to use designated shopping hours for people over 70.

Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One earlier today, the CEO of the charity ALONE Seán Moynihan appealed to the public to adhere to Government guidelines in order to improve life for vulnerable people.

Mr Moynihan said, “maybe we’re back here because we’ve had a little bit of drifting at the edges, where people haven’t been complying across all age groups and ultimately if we all go back to working together as a group following the public health advice, we can all have the same quality of life.”

Underlying conditions

An average of 7,800 coronavirus tests have been carried out every day for the past week in Ireland, with more than 54,000 people tested in the last seven days.

A new report from the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) released today shows that, of the total of 27,258 confirmed cases of Covid-19 recorded up to August 15th, data on underlying medical conditions is available for 20,759 of these cases.

Routine follow-ups with patients suggest that 50% (10,368) are reported to have an underlying medical condition. The five most commonly reported conditions overall were chronic heart disease, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic neurological disease.

Lockdown concerns

Meanwhile, a new survey from the Central Statistics Office reveals that almost two-thirds (64.1%) of business owners remain concerned about the impact of another lockdown.

More than half (54.1%) of the responding enterprises had lower than normal turnover for the four-week period from June 29th to July 26th, 2020.
During the period from March 16th to July 26th, 2020, 20.4% of businesses reported that their business costs had exceeded their turnover.

Office-based businesses had an average of 59.2% of staff working remotely, while more than half (54.3%) of enterprises have introduced mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the workplace, while 45.3% have provided protective screening for staff.

“The findings from this survey signal a worried and struggling business community in Ireland, with reduced turnover and uncertainty around a looming second lockdown having a real impact,” said Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Association of Compliance Officers Ireland (ACOI).

“On the positive side, our own survey showed that there is a huge desire for survival and businesses the length and breadth of the country are doing everything in their power to rise above the challenges they are being presented with on a daily basis,” added Mr Kavanagh.

Earlier this week, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said we must “do all we can to avoid a return to where we were” in March and April.

“Social distancing applies to all age groups – wherever you are this weekend please keep your distance,” he added.