Ireland to tighten coronavirus rules after spike in cases
Ireland will “significantly” tighten Covid-19 rules following a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases over the past two weeks.
It comes after the country’s health minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed there had been 190 new cases today.
Ireland previously held one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, but its 14-day rolling average has risen from four cases per 100,000 to 26.
As a result, Prime Minister Micheal Martin has this evening announced measures to tighten restrictions for the next four weeks.
Employers have been told to let employees work from home, while limits on outdoor gatherings have been restricted to a maximum of 15 people.
The public has also been told to avoid public transport and wear a mask if sharing private transport with members of another household.
Other measures will see restaurants forced to close by 11:30pm, all sport to be played behind closed doors and over-70s asked to limit contact with others once again.
Martin said the latest restrictions would be reassessed on 13 September.
At a press conference he said all state bodies responsible for monitoring Covid-19 cases must step up their efforts.
“We’re absolutely not at a stage where we can return to normality. We are at another critical moment,” he told press.
However, schools we reopen for the first time since March.
“Schools are so important to children in general, to society, to the economy as well, that we want our schools to reopen, and our schools will reopen,” Martin said.
Ireland is also considering pushing through legislation that would give police additional powers to enforce the existing rules.