“As an individual who is not vaccinated, this is really not a place for you to be.”
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has urged unvaccinated people to avoid the All-Ireland Football Final and other large events.
Speaking during a briefing on Tuesday, the CMO said that due to “very significant levels of disease in the population”, NPHET had to express concern about the levels of socialising being seen throughout the country.
“If you’re an unvaccinated person now… there are many activities now with these disease levels in the population that are simply not safe enough for you to do, particularly some of the kinds of indoor activities, meeting up in groups and in crowds.
“It’s still really important that you exercise, if you like, that personal judgement to stay away from those kinds of activities until such time as you’ve had the opportunity to receive both doses and to allow that extra week or usually two weeks to elapse to regard yourself as being fully protected.”
Asked about the All-Ireland Football Final due to take place on 11 September at which 40,000 people are due to be in attendance, as was the case with the All-Ireland Hurling Final at the weekend, the CMO said NPHET would like to see events like this “being confined” to people who are vaccinated.
“One of the ways you as an individual could achieve that for yourself is, if you’re not vaccinated, don’t be going to large events of this scale because at this level of disease incidence, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to run into somebody who’s got the disease.
“Our message would have to be, [for] you as an unvaccinated person, it’s really important that you stay away from these, particularly at these high levels of transmission.”
Asked if he meant unvaccinated GAA fans should not attend the final, he replied: “I don’t want people to hear this as a message that applies to the GAA and if there’s some other event it doesn’t apply equally.
“If you’re an unvaccinated person in the population at the moment, there’s simply so much disease that this represents a real risk for you.
“As an individual who is not vaccinated, this is really not a place for you to be would be, I think, the responsible public health advice that we would give.”
Meanwhile, the Event Industry Alliance has called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to fully reopen the Live Entertainment and Event industry by 1 September.
The group has said that unless the industry is fully reopened by that date, Martin should step down as Taoiseach.
In a statement, the group pointed to the All-Ireland Hurling Final held in Croke Park on Sunday which did not require Covid-19 testing, contact tracing or proof of vaccination.
Main image via Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
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