DUBLIN: Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced on Friday that Ireland’s coronavirus lockdown measures rolled out last month will be extended until 5 May.
The government accepted an “expert recommendation” that the current ban on non-essential movement should be prolonged, Varadkar said.
“What we’re doing is difficult, but it’s making a difference and we have to keep going,” he added.
“Too many have died and sadly more will die and get sick before this is over. So today’s message is that we cannot be complacent and we cannot lose focus.”
The Irish government closed schools and universities on 12 March, ramping up controls until a full lockdown on non-essential movement was imposed on 27 March.
The order had been due to expire at midnight (2300 GMT) on Sunday.
Health Minister Simon Harris said the current measures had successfully reduced the spread of infection.
“Just a couple of weeks ago a person who got the virus typically infected about four others,” he said.
“Last night we learned from our scientific experts that it’s now approaching one, but we need to get it lower again.”
Unprecedented police powers to enforce the lockdown will also remain in place.
Under emergency powers passed in the Irish parliament two weeks ago, those violating the ban are liable to a fine of up to 2,500 euros ($2,700) and/or six months in prison.
Irish police began enforcing the new regulation on Wednesday, with roadblocks nationwide and at the border with the British province of Northern Ireland.
Varadkar said Friday the powers would be used “sparingly.”
There have been 263 COVID-19 related deaths and 6,574 confirmed cases in the republic, according to department of health figures released Thursday.
Irish PM extends coronavirus lockdown to May 5
https://arab.news/y56sa
Irish PM extends coronavirus lockdown to May 5
- Leo Varadkar: What we’re doing is difficult, but it’s making a difference and we have to keep going
- Health Minister Simon Harris said the current measures had successfully reduced the spread of infection
Minister walks out of film festival after accusations of German role in Gaza ‘genocide’
- Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib said the German government “are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel”
BERLIN: A German minister walked out of the awards ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival after a prize-winning director accused Germany of complicity in the “genocide” committed by Israel in Gaza.
Social Democratic Environment Minister Carsten Schneider left the ceremony on Saturday evening because of “unacceptable” remarks, his ministry said.
Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, who picked up a prize for Best First Feature Award with his “Chronicles from the Siege,” said in his speech that the German government “are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel. I believe you are intelligent enough to recognize this truth.”
Schneider was the only member of the German government attending the ceremony though he was not representing it, his ministry told AFP.
The Ministry of Culture, contacted by AFP to find out the reason for the absence of its minister Wolfram Weimer, did not respond immediately.
A leading member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party, Alexander Hoffmann, denounced what he said were “repugnant scenes” of “antisemitic” during the ceremony.
“The accusations of genocide, the antisemitic outbursts, and the threats against Germany at the Berlinale are absolutely unacceptable,” Hoffmann, head of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian party allied with Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, told the Bundestag.
The CDU mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner told newspaper Bild that “The open display of hatred toward Israel is in direct contradiction with what this festival represents.”
The backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East led to a tense 76th edition of the festival.
More than 80 film professionals criticized the Berlinale’s “silence” on the war in Gaza in an open letter, accusing the festival of censoring artists “who reject the genocide” they believe Israel has committed in Gaza.
Award-winning Indian writer Arundhati Roy withdrew from the festival after jury president Wim Wenders said cinema should “stay out of politics” when asked about Gaza.
