May June 2020 Electric.ie Magazine

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 59 Industry News Government publishes roadmap to ease Covid 19 restrictions and reopen Ireland’s economy and society ‒ On 1st May, theGovernment published a Roadmap for Reopening Society & Business to ease the Covid 19 restrictions and reopen Ireland’s economy and society in a phased manner. T he Roadmap will start from May 18th, fromwhich point our country will re-open in a slow, phased way. The plan sets out five stages for unlocking restrictions, at three week intervals. As we ease restrictions, the rate of the virus in the community will be constantly monitored by the National Public Health Emergency Team and the Government. The framework sets out how we can keep the level of transmission as low as possible while balancing continuing restrictions proportionately with the positive social and economic benefits which will be brought about by lifting restrictions. In the meantime, we are extending the distance you can leave your home, so from next Tuesday it will be possible to go up to 5km for the purposes of exercise. People who are cocooning need to continue to do so, however it will be possible from Tuesday to go outside for exercise and fresh air, as with others in society, provided you keep within 5 km of your home and observe social distancing at all times. There are 5 phases in the Roadmap to ease restrictions. Each phase consists of a menu of options will be considered by Government as it gradually opens up economic and social activities. Examples of the types of actions which will be considered under the various phases include: Phase 1 (18th May) • Allow outdoor meetings between people from different households • Open up childcare for healthcare workers • Phased return of outdoor workers • Open retailers which are primarily outdoor or those which were open during first level of restriction (e.g. opticians) • Opening of certain outdoor public amenities Phase 2 (8th June) • Allow visits to households • Develop plans and supports to open up business with consideration for safety of staff and customers • Open small retail outlets and marts where social distancing can be observed • Open public libraries Phase 3 (June 29th) • Allow small social gatherings • Opening of crèches, childminders and pre-schools for children of essential workers in phased manner • Return to work for those with low levels of interaction • Open non-essential retail outlets with street level entrance and exit • Open playgrounds Phase 4 (20th July) • Opening of crèches, childminders and pre-schools for children of all other workers on a gradually increasing basis • Return to work for those who cannot work from home • Gradual easing of restrictions for higher risk services (e.g. Hairdressers) • Opening of museums, galleries, places of worship Phase 5 (August 10th) • Allow larger social gatherings • Return to work across all sectors • On a phased basis, commencing at the beginning of the academic year 2020/2021, opening of primary and secondary schools and 3rd level institutions • Further easing of restrictions on high risk retail services The Government will regularly assess the following criteria in order to keep the level of transmission low while gradually restarting our economy. This will, at all times be underpinned by public health advice. ‒ The latest data regarding the progression of the disease ‒ The capacity of the health service ‒ The capacity of the testing and tracing system ‒ The measures in place to protect vulnerable groups ‒ An assessment of the impact of excess morbidity and mortality as a consequence of the restrictions.