By Tony O’Riley-
Ireland is to impose the highest level of coronavirus restrictions for six weeks, from midnight on Wednesday- and will remain on level 5 until December 1st.
Cabinet ministers agreed with the measures to contain COVID-19 during a meeting at Government Buildings in Dublin.
The close to full lockdown will mean a closure of most shops on top of a 5km travel limit, to curb surging infection rates.
The radical move is expected to kick off as from Wednesday midnight, as the country moves to its highest lockdown tier for six weeks. Visits to private homes will be prohibited under the lockdown, and there will be no gatherings , apart from the very restricted numbers of 25 people for weddings and 10 at funerals.
Prime Minister Michael Martin is set to address the nation this evening, with Sky’s Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy previously describing the measures as a “surprise move”.
Non-essential retail will close along with barbershops, beauty salons, gyms, leisure centres and cultural amenities. Pubs, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve takeout meals only.
Schools and creches are to remain open, but alarmed members of the teacher’s unions plan to challenge this decision to keep schools open. Martin Marjoram, the president of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, said his members were anxious, as he called for more rapid coronavirus testing was needed for schools to remain open.
The wide ranging plans to hit Ireland shows how serious the spread of the virus in Ireland is, and how necessary the Irish government thinks the intervention is.
Ireland has recorded a total of 49,962 cases, with another 1,283 infections added to the statistics of the last 24 hours. Of the new cases, 235 were in Dublin, 232 in Cork, 60 in Galway, 47 in Limerick, 47 in Kerry, and the remaining 410 cases were spread across 21 counties. As of 2pm this afternoon, 298 people with Covid-19 were in hospitals, including 34 people in intensive care units.
Sir Patrick Vallance today claimed that Covid-19 will probably never disappear, even once a reliable vaccine appears. England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam called for the nation’s 10pm pub curfew to be brought forward to 6pm