Several events cancelled, postponed or moved online due to high Covid numbers

Several high-profile events that were due to take place in person have been cancelled, postponed or moved to an online-only celebration as a result of the rising incidence of Covid-19 in communities.

Public health officials have expressed concern about the high prevalence of the virus, with the country’s seven-day average of daily confirmed cases standing at just less than 4,000.

Hospitalisations are also high with 614 confirmed cases in hospital on Tuesday morning, of whom 114 were in intensive care.

Members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) have encouraged the public to reduce their social contacts in a bid to reduce the rate of transmission.

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Organisers of a number of events due to take place in the coming weeks have adhered to the advice and decided not to proceed with their planned functions.

The British Irish Chamber of Commerce announced it was postponing its 10th anniversary dinner, which was due to take place on Wednesday at the Intercontinental hotel in Dublin.

The dinner was due to be addressed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Paul Johnston, British ambassador to Ireland.

In a statement on its website, the organisation said Covid-19 numbers have been “rising steadily in Ireland over the past number of weeks”.

“While we are keen to return to large-scale in-person events, the priority for the chamber will always be the safety of our members, guests and staff,” the statement said.

“Therefore, after a thorough risk assessment, we took the difficult decision to postpone the dinner until the new year.”

Safety concerns

The American Chamber of Commerce had been planning to host its annual Thanksgiving lunch on November 25th this year, but cancelled it earlier this month.

“[The chamber] took the decision to cancel the event in early November because of the rising Covid-19 case numbers and the emerging advice that week from Nphet and other experts,” a spokesman said.

“The primary concern being the safety of all those who would have been present at the event.”

Unicef Ireland’s corporate lunch, which was scheduled to take place in the Mansion House on Friday, has also been postponed in light of the increased cases.

The An Post Irish Book Awards announced on Monday that it was moving to a virtual-only event.

In a post on social media, the organisers of the awards ceremony, which was due to take place on November 23rd, said they made the decision “as a result of the worsening Covid-19 situation [and] recent guidance on reducing social interactions”.

“We’re hugely disappointed but look forward to celebrating safely together in 2022,” they added.

The Newsbrands Ireland journalism awards has also announced it is moving online. The event was originally due to take place on Thursday in the Mansion House, Dublin.