A Christmas reunion with old friends over a few drinks in the local may be at risk as NPHET is expected to recommend a series of new Covid restrictions following a meeting with the government on Thursday.
The new rules will likely focus on limiting social interactions and stricter measures on close contacts.
Following the recommendations, Cabinet will meet on Friday to discuss the implementation of further Covid restrictions before Christmas.
The news comes after the Independent Scientific Advisory Group (ISAG) called on the government to close all indoor hospitality and ban non-essential travel before it is ‘too late’.
In a statement, the ISAG said the government needs to act now to avoid a similar situation to this time last year.
The group said: “We left it too late to do anything meaningful to save the country from what became five months of lockdown.
“This year we know how to do better. We must take action now to protect ourselves, our families, and our health service from Delta and the new Omicron variant of Covid-19,” the Independent reported.
However, speaking from Brussels, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said if new restrictions are introduced, there will be ‘flexibilities’ around New Year’s Eve as people should be trusted to behave responsibly.
Mr Martin was asked how pubs will operate as current restrictions make it impossible to ring in the new year as they must close at 11 pm.
He said: “The situation is challenging with Omicron, and I fully appreciate the frustration people are experiencing because of this long pandemic, but people are using their common sense and taking precaution, and flexibility in people's behaviour is going to be there.”
"I think being overly prescriptive is not the way forward here, and we must trust people as well about how they go about their daily lives.
"Obviously public health advice will come, there will be a meeting of NPHET tomorrow evening, and I would prefer to wait for that and government's response to that before getting into specifics, but suffice to say, all, including public health officials, realise the festive season is upon us, an important part of the year where families get together, and we recognise the obvious human factors involved and flexibilities will apply."
Mr Martin acknowledged that NPHET is concerned about how fast the Omicron variant is spreading.
He said: "Suffice to say they are very concerned ... at how fast this variant spreads."
However, the Taoiseach added that Ireland’s uptake of the first and second doses of the vaccine will help in the fight against Covid, saying: “You add the booster, and you're in a strong position to deal with this.”
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