Letting our guard down must not be on the menu when it comes to hospitality – Independent.ie

Thepaintings of Jackson Pollock are like the idea of having an idea, instead of having an idea, says an art-loving character in Keith Ridgways novel Hawthorn & Child. Its surprisingly popular, that idea of being seen to have an idea, without considering whether its actually a good one worth pursuing.

nd so to the bizarre notion of how to implement jabbed and unjabbed dining arrangements so indoor hospitality can reopen at a time when the Delta variant is ramping up.

Lets just spell it out, shall we? Delta is 2.4 times more transmissible than the previous variant, and now accounts for seven cases in 10, with infections rising sharply.

Consequently, the idea of anyone in the Cabinet giving thought to devising ways for people to congregate and socialise inside buildings is extraordinary.

Covid-19 is a Frankenvirus. Every time we think it has been locked off, it mutates to form a new threat. Professor Philip Nolan said yesterday we are now entering a fourth wave.

To recap (a necessary step in view of the clamour for indoor drinking and dining) to date there have been 5,000 deaths in the Republic from Covid-19.

Forty-five per cent of adults are fully vaccinated, which means more than half are not. Also, vaccines are not an absolute prevention against infection. In other words, caution is essential.

Tearing up the hospitality plan was painful but necessary. Replacing it with a let in some, exclude others admission policy for indoor drinking and dining is not at all necessary and will lead to more problems than solutions.

The decision to delay reopening was hardly much of a surprise: no need to read the runes or offer sacrifices to the gods, because the Delta statistics were only headed one way.

However, the Cabinet made its decision to pause reopening quite rapidly, with no replacement blueprint drawn up, and this is giving rise to misery and uncertainty for the hospitality sector.

That said, we appear to have invented a new vice: complaining about the way Covid-19 is ripping up our reopening plans, without acknowledging that the coronavirus has a knack for shredding any plan.

No doubt some people are intending to go abroad as soon as the vaccine passports, rolled out in the EU from yesterday, become available later this month.

What impact will that have on transmission rates already worrying our public health experts? The Government should strongly urge people to stay in Ireland, citing the danger of leaving the country.

It has been suggested unpredictability over indoor dining is among the reasons people will travel overseas rather than holiday at home, but that seems doubtful. Sunshine and a change of scene are the incentives.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate is recognised in all 27 EU member states, plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. But overseas travel is a calculated risk.

Travellers pack a double disadvantage into their suitcases: quarantine requirements may become more onerous at short notice, and a holidaymaker may face greater exposure to the contagious Delta variant. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

A glance at the spiralling infection numbers in Scotland and England should make all of us cautious about non-essential overseas travel, and the Government needs to warn people of the dangers. If the Delta variant, which is already present, is able to run as free here as in Britain, our hospitals will be under pressure. It would be an error to let down our guard too soon.

Besides, Irish hospitality outlets and holiday resorts need our spending money to get the economy motoring again. Spain and Portugal are wonderful countries, I look forward to visiting them again in future years, but is now really the time to export Irish disposable income?

Outdoor dining is working surprisingly well without moving people indoors causing risk to staff as well as customers.

Granted, the weather has been fine, in general, and its clearly a different scenario when its wet or windy, but compared with last summer the outdoor dining vista is a success.

Local authorities have created space on pavements for seating, and restaurants and cafes have invested in awnings, heaters and other accoutrements and are efficient at serving outdoors. The litter is a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

Is indoor dining so desirable in summer, when an alternative is viable? On the occasions when I tried eating in restaurants last year, I found it stressful. Outdoors felt safer, it still does and a sense of security enhances any social occasion.

I wandered around Dublin city centre earlier this week, and it seemed closer to normal than at any stage since March last year. Not the same as before, but not too far off.

Sunshine wasnt the only reason it was working. The restaurants, cafes, museums and shops have adapted well to service on the street.

Of course, its not ideal, but living with Covid is far from ideal. I also scurried through heavy showers one evening and noticed to my surprise the high numbers of outdoor diners and drinkers, although their pints were diluted by rainwater and their meals were turning soggy.

The answer is to accelerate the vaccination programme rather than find ways for the jabbed to eat and drink indoors with the unjabbed left looking on. Thats an idea that shouldnt fly.

Meanwhile, we can also learn from best practice elsewhere. For example, surge testing is happening in various areas where outbreaks of the Delta variant are suspected, but its a case of people turning up voluntarily.

In the North, a more proactive stance is being taken to encourage testing, with the Public Health Agency sending letters to people in particular postcodes, inviting them to attend their local test centre.

This approach was taken in an area of my hometown of Omagh, for example, as well as in other parts of the North such as Antrim and Down.

Its being characterised as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of infection.

Last week, more than 400 people were tested in one Omagh neighbourhood after receiving one such letter. Of those, 31 had the Delta variant. Other test centres are now being opened in the town as a result, with testing stepped up.

There is no doubt it would be reassuring if there was clarity at government level about plans for reopening in the near future.

However, instead of giving dates, it might be more useful if people were told a full reopening would only happen after a certain number of weeks with infections below a specified figure and no hotspots.

Crowds, such as those witnessed in Dublins Temple Bar and Grafton Street areas, need to be prevented rather than broken up after they have gathered. Publicans have a responsibility here.

Inevitably, mistakes have been made by the coalition. Even Homer nods, as Horace tells us.

But not everything is within the Governments control and the Delta surge tells us they called it right by pausing indoor drinking and dining.

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Letting our guard down must not be on the menu when it comes to hospitality - Independent.ie