Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has issued a warning to anyone considering attending or hosting a house party over the Christmas break.
He also warned that Covid-19 case numbers in the coming days will scare people due to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
It comes as new Covid-19 rules come into force on Monday which will see pubs, bars and restaurants shut at 8pm.
There has been backlash over the move to close premises early as politicians and representatives for the hospitality sector have said it’ll drive socialising in homes.
Responding to this, Mr Varadkar admitted that “it probably does mean more people will socialise at home.”
But he said: “The objective isn’t to eliminate people from mixing with other people, it’s to try and reduce it by about 30% and that’s what our public health advisors think is necessary to weather this Omicron wave.
“We do appreciate that hospitality or other events are ending at 8 o’clock.
“Anyone who is considering visiting another person’s house or attending a small house party, first of all the guidance is not to have more than four households in a house and I would ask people to follow that guidance.
“Don’t go to anybody’s house or a house party if you’re experiencing symptoms of Covid, isolate and get a test and if you’re not having any symptoms, consider an antigen test for extra protection.
“But crucially and perhaps as importantly, get your booster if you can, you’ll be much more protected if you’ve had that extra dose.”
When asked if he is confident that the reintroduction of restrictions will work, the Fine Gael leader said: “I am confident, not certain but I am confident.
“I think we will see some very high case numbers in the coming weeks.
“They will scare people but I don’t think they’ll translate into the levels of hospitalisation or ICU admissions or deaths that maybe we fear.
“But that won’t be clear really for another couple of weeks but that’s really why we proposed these restrictions as of today.
“It’s never just about the restrictions.
“Government restrictions can only go so far, it is about what we all do as individuals and families.
“That’s why it’s really important that people get that booster dose..we hope to have 2 million boosted by the New Year.”
Mr Varadkar also said there are no plans to bring in more Covid-19 restrictions before the end of this year.
However, he said the Government will respond if it is required.
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