July 19, what’s happening?

Good news first because it looks set to be a pretty landmark day for nursing homes. Guidance from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) suggests visiting restrictions should be eased in nursing homes by July 19.

 

What will be different?

The guidance suggested visits return to normal as quickly as possible. This means an easing of requirements to schedule visits in advance and there will no longer be a need for a list of nominated visitors. In short, a lot of people who haven’t seen each other properly during the pandemic should get to do so pretty soon now.

 

That’s great.

Yeah, and the HPSC also recommended there should be fewer restrictions about trips or outings from nursing homes, so there should be a greater sense of freedom for some people at least.

Freedom? Does that mean we are getting back into restaurants and bars then too?

That’s still pretty unclear. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says it’ll be July 26 at the latest, so, you wouldn’t really say he’s committing to reopening them a week earlier.

 

So has July 19 been ruled out?

Not at all. Proposals are going to Cabinet this week for approval that aim to allow indoor hospitality to resume in line with Nphet guidance. That then has to go through the Dáil and the Seanad and get sign-off from President Higgins – which all takes time. Mr Varadkar said he expects it will probably be between July 19 and July 26 when this can happen.

 

What is the Nphet guidance?

Nphet wants a system in place where customers will be able to prove they have been vaccinated before indoor dining resumes. The new EU Digital Covid Certificate allowing people to travel is the most obvious form of such proof.

Ok, so it seems they are a bit calmer now about that Delta variant, is that right?

Not at all, quite the opposite. The idea of the next 10 days being crucial has been repeated endlessly over the past 16 months, and there really is a sense of anxiety around the coming couple of weeks. The Delta variant now accounts for 71pc of cases here. Vaccinations should mean the hospitalisation rate will be lower if the virus continues spreading but chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan believes current case figures are cause for concern.

 

What’s so dangerous or concerning?

For a start there is the fact it is more transmissible, but also some of the symptoms are different to earlier Covid-19 variants. A headache, sore throat and runny nose have been linked to it – which at this time of year seems similar to hay fever. Hay fever suffers should be clear of symptoms over a few days and after taking antihistamines. Symptoms that stick around a bit longer are something we should be very cautious of.