The Republic of Ireland will scrap nearly all Covid restrictions beginning Saturday.
Meanwhile in the United States, Joe Biden and the Democrats are pushing for more Covid tyranny.
A Covid ‘green pass’ will no longer be needed to enter pubs, restaurants and other indoor venues in Ireland.
All ‘social distancing’ requirements will also be dropped.
Sky News reported:
The Irish government has agreed to lift almost all coronavirus restrictions from tomorrow – in a move attributed to the passing of the peak of the Omicron wave, and the country’s high vaccine uptake.
The landmark decision was announced by Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin in a televised address to the nation.
“Today is a good day,” he said.
From this weekend, Irish pubs, restaurants and other hospitality outlets can return to normal operations, and customers will not be asked for their digital COVID pass.
A full return to the workplace begins on a phased basis from Monday.
Some rules will continue, however. The requirement to wear face masks is being retained, until at least the end of February, and a digital COVID pass will still be required for international travel.
Self-isolation will remain in place for symptomatic people.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced Covid restrictions in England would be lifted.
Although the US Supreme Court and federal judges have brought some relief to American citizens by blocking some of Joe Biden’s Covid vaccine mandates, many Democrat-run cities are under heavy restrictions.
Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Seattle, Minneapolis and San Francisco require proof of vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, theaters, bars, gyms and more.
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin announced Friday most pandemic restrictions will be scrapped, including early closing times and other curbs on hospitality venues, declaring the country had “weathered the Omicron storm“.
The stringent rules, beefed up last month as the variant prompted a surge of new infections — forcing nightclubs to close over the Christmas period — will be lifted from 0600 GMT Sarturday after new cases and other key indicators eased in recent weeks.
“I have stood here on many dark days but today is a good day,” Martin said in a televised announcement in Dublin.
“We’ve concluded that the rationale or justification for continuing most of our public health restrictions are no longer in place.
“The majority of public health measures that we’ve had to live with will be removed,” he added, while cautioning “the pandemic isn’t over”.
Ireland only fully reopened in October, after 18 months of rolling lockdowns that then returned in early December.
Friday’s decision means pubs, bars and restaurants can operate normal trading hours — rather than closing in early evening — and no longer need a Covid pass system or social distancing.
Meanwhile indoor and outdoor events will not have any crowd limits imposed on them and different households can gather without restrictions on numbers.
Employees can also gradually return to workplaces from next week.
Masks will still be needed in some settings, while self-isolation rules will also remain for now for those who test positive for Covid-19 and their close contacts as well as symptomatic people.
Ireland, which has a population of around five million people, has recorded more than 6,000 deaths from the virus.
The country has seen high levels of vaccine uptake, with nearly two-thirds of those aged over five receiving a booster jab in recent months.
“Ireland’s first class vaccination programme and the rollout of boosters has utterly transformed our situation,” Martin said in his address.
“It was our vaccinations and boosters that prevented the recent wave of infection translating into much more serious levels of illness and death.”
Agence France-Presse (AFP)