Dear Business Owner / Manager  We were very concerned on Sunday evening to see the recommendations of NPHET to move the whole country to Level 5 measures leaked to the press. To do this at the weekend, without any time for Government to respond, was a very worrying development, and suggests a lack of both disciple and empathy in the communication of the public health message. We understand the gravity of the situation with the Covid-19 infection, but many of our politicians and media do not understand the impact on small business of even the threat of a move to Level 5.  We also consider it most unfair that business owners who have led compliance with the Covid-19 prevention measures appear to be singled out for collective punishment due to the foolishness of others. ISME needs you to communicate this message to your local politicians and the media.  Please use the template message below, edit to your needs and paste it into an email to your local TD. You’ll find their email address here.    Dear ____________  Our business is ______________ and we employ _____ people in this constituency.  We understand that measures have to be taken to halt the spread of COVID-19, but we ask that the measures implemented allow us to continue trading with controls. We are running our business responsibly. When we heard that NPHET recommended Level 5 restrictions, it felt to us that our business was being punished for the actions  of others. We are asking you to ensure that businesses like ours are not threatened by measures designed to tackle the behaviour of people who are not conforming with public health advice.    Yours sincerely,   _________________    We suggest you also email the following, or tag them on twitter. Please feel free to tag us @isme_ie and we can retweet: @RTERadio1 / @morningireland morningireland@rte.ie @TodaywithClaire todaycb@rte.ie ‎@RTERadio1 /  @drivetimerte ‎drivetime@rte.ie @RTERadio1 / @RTENewsAtOne NewsatOne@rte.ie @rteliveline joe@rte.ie @breakfastnt breakfast@newstalk.com @patkennynt patkenny@newstalk.com @lunchtimelivent lunchtimelive@newstalk.com @thehardshoulder thehardshoulder@newstalk.com @lstwrd ddoyle@todayfm.com Please contact your local FM radio station and your local newspaper also. I also want to take this opportunity to remind you, you are not alone, ISME are here to support you through these tough times. If you are worried about your staff we also have our Wellness Programme which you may find helpful.  Stay Safe,  Neil McDonnell  ISME CEO