Covid Protocol provides welcome reopening advice for businesses in Offaly

IT appears the Covid nightmare which has dominated our lives for the best part of two years is finally coming to an end.

Rumours of its impending demise on a number of previous occasions proved premature but it now seems that the end of the pandemic is near at hand.

The lifting of the vast majority of Covid restrictions on Monday, January 24 last was met with widespread relief by a people that has sacrificed much of their family, work and social lives since March 2020.

The world of business and commerce can now return to a near normal situation particularly those in the hospitality and tourism sector which have suffered so much financially in the past two years.

While the lifting of the Covid restrictions by Government has been virtually universally welcomed there was some concern among the retail, hospitality and overall business sector about managing a phased return to the workplace.

As such the publication last Monday by the Government of the Transitional Protocol, “Good Practice Guidance for Continuing to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19”, has provided much needed guidance to the business sector.

Ibec Director of Employer Relations, Maeve McElwee acknowledged “the removal of the majority of public health restrictions announced on January 24  was widely welcomed but did give rise to many questions by the business community, primarily on effectively managing a safe and phased return to the workplace.”

“This Transitional Protocol provides excellent guidance for planning and implementing the safe return to working across all industries and sectors following the removal of most public health restrictions.  It recognises the necessity of autonomy for businesses in planning for their individual company needs, along with the importance of personal responsibility that we all bear in continuing to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”

The updated guidance clearly reflects the fact that Covid-19 continues to be present in our communities. 

The phased return to office working or the removal of public health restrictions such as physical distancing must be considered in line with obligations under existing Safety, Health and Welfare legislation to provide a safe place of work.

The employers organisation said it encourages employers in the weeks ahead in planning to give effect to the updated guidance, in line with their own Covid-19 risk management and safety requirements to meet the pace of return in their organisation and in consultation with their own teams.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar stressed the “emphasis on personal protective measures, including getting vaccinated and boosted, still stands, and it is still crucial that anyone with symptoms isolates and takes a test – either an antigen or PCR depending on their circumstances.”

Some of the guidance contained in this document is good advice regardless of Covid, the emphasis on providing good ventilation and air quality for example, and this will no doubt cut down on the transmission of other airborne viruses too, keeping everyone healthier. The same applies to hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.

The Tanaiste said he knew employers are speaking to their staff about future working arrangements.

“We have an opportunity to make remote and hybrid working a permanent fixture of Irish working life. The  principle should be that once the business is done and public services are not diminished in any way, it should be facilitated. When workers are in the workplace, this document gives guidance on how to keep them safe.” 

Of course the return to work for many has been enabled by the high uptake of the vaccination and booster programme and through high levels of adherence to public health measures  by the Irish people over the period of the pandemic.

While it is great to see people return to the office once more it remains important that everyone continues to play their part in limiting transmission of the virus. Employers and workers should continue to remain vigilant and support good practices for a safe working environment.