Ireland getting back to normal as restrictions on gatherings, shopping and travel ease

Life in Ireland is returning to normal with the easing of some lockdown restrictions including rules affecting meeting people, travel and shopping.

From Monday, click-and-collect services and in-store shopping by appointment will be allowed as part of a phased reopening of non-essential retail.

The sector is scheduled to reopen fully in a week.

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Close contact services, such as hairdressers, can resume, while COVID restrictions on travel between counties have lifted and some of the limitations on indoor and outdoor social gatherings have eased.

From today, up to 50 people can attend religious services in Ireland, including weddings and funerals, although a maximum of six will be allowed at indoor wedding receptions and 15 at outdoor celebrations.

Three households, or up to six people from individual households, can now meet outdoors, including in private gardens.

People from vaccinated households can also meet with an unvaccinated household indoors without masks or social distancing.

But it applies only if they are not at risk of severe illness and there are no more than three households present.

This measure will enable grandparents to meet and hug other family members indoors.

Many museums, galleries and libraries are now able to reopen and groups, or pods, of up to 15 adults can get together for team sports training.

The maximum permitted capacity on public transport has also increased to 50%.

Next Monday retail will reopen fully, with a variety of other restrictions due to lift in June.

On Sunday, Ireland’s leader, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, said he hoped Ireland could look forward to a good summer.

Speaking after he received an AstraZeneca vaccine in Cork, Mr Martin said: “I think we’re making great progress as a country.

“I think people have done extremely well in responding to the various guidelines over the last number of months and the results are that we are emerging from this pandemic.

“We’re set to have a good summer if we can keep this progress going and the vaccination is certainly helping in bring down severe illness and bringing down death and hospitalisation, so keep with it and we’re making progress.”

Ireland’s vaccination programme continues to gather pace and on Friday the country achieved a record for the number of jabs administered in one day, 52,000.

Another two coronavirus-related deaths and 514 more cases were recorded by the country’s department of health, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to almost 253,000.

A total of 4,921 people have died after catching the illness.

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