Restrictions to ease from Monday but fears of shopping frenzy at hardware and garden centres

The long-awaited easing of the Covid-19 lockdown will begin as scheduled on Monday, after the Government on Friday gave the go-ahead for the first stage in lifting the restrictions that have brought commercial and social life to a halt since March.

But there is anxiety in Government that people will “descend on hardware stores and garden centres in large numbers” once the rules are relaxed, resulting in a rise in rates of infection.

So the announcement that the easing of the lockdown would go ahead was accompanied by warnings that it was the first step in a long process, and was contingent on the continued suppression of the disease.

At a press conference in Government Buildings, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar – flanked by Minister for Health Simon Harris, Minister for Business Heather Humphreys and chief medical officer Tony Holohan – said it was a “calculated evidence-based risk to ease the lockdown”.

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Mr Varadkar said the Government was now advising the wearing of face coverings on public transport and in crowded indoor locations.

But Dr Holohan warned that “we cannot regard face coverings as some sort of magic shield . . . It’s a supplement to the other measures we are recommending.”

He said that the evidence “isn’t very strong” about their use, stressing that handwashing and social distancing were more important. “This is an additional hygiene measure, it’s not a magic bullet for this disease, and that has to be understood.”

First phase

The first phase of the reopening of the country will see construction and other outdoor work permitted, some retail outlets such as hardware – but not homeware – shops allowed to open their doors and groups of four people allowed to meet outdoors once they observe social distancing. Retailers expressed disappointment at the late exclusion of homeware stores but Mr Harris said “now is not the time to decide I’m going to dicky up the house”.

The Taoiseach said he expected to get reports of rules being broken in shops and businesses when the restrictions are eased next week.

There will be an inspection regime, he said, managed in the first instance by a “warden” in each workplace and building site who will ensure that social distancing and other measures are in place. The Health and Safety Authority will have the power to shut down businesses or building sites that are not complying with the rules.

He stressed that while construction sites could reopen, indoor building work such as home renovations would not be permitted. “It wouldn’t be possible for people to get their kitchen redone or something like that,” he said. “That would be at a later stage.”

Some fear

Mr Varadkar admitted there was some fear in Government that the easing of the lockdown would prompt people to ignore the need for continued social distancing and other measures to combat the spread of the virus.

“Of course there’s a concern that people will descend on hardware stores and garden centres in large numbers. That’s what we don’t want to see happen,” he said.

Mr Varadkar spoke to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland to inform them of the moves, and also telephoned the British prime minister Boris Johnson on Friday.

The two men discussed travel restrictions and trying to protect the Common Travel Area, while enforcing the 14-day quarantine on all travellers arriving in Ireland. He said the requirement would continue to apply to travellers from Britain, whether they were Irish or British.

Mr Varadkar also said that “it may be necessary at some point down the line” to increase taxes. He said parties had ruled out income tax increases and corporation tax increases, “but it’s not a blanket ruling out of any tax increases”.

The deaths of a further 16 people from Covid-19 were confirmed by the National Public Health Emergency Team on Friday night as well as an additional 129 cases.