A SENIOR health official has warned that hugging people at Christmas will ‘pose an extreme risk’.
Paul Reid, the CEO of the HSE, was speaking at the weekly HSE Covid-19 update.
Ireland came out of Level 5 restrictions this week and entered Level 3 with the hospitality sector to see a return of indoor dining from tomorrow.
“We are encouraging everyone, as you do meet up, to keep a heightened level of guard at all stages,” Mr Reid said.
“It’s not just about the restaurants and bars because they have taken quite good levels of risk mitigations in the previous phase. as people meet together.
“It’s not just in the restaurants, it’s about as they travel to meet together, travel together or leave together, it’s understandable that people’s guard can drop.
“As people leave each other, our natural inkling is to hug each other and wish each other Happy Christmas which is, in the current environment, extreme risk.”