It is looking increasingly likely that safety restrictions will be in place for Dublin this weekend.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that any additional Covid restrictions to be implemented in Dublin will be in place by the weekend if required. Speaking on Morning Ireland on Thursday, McEntee said that if NPHET advises further Covid-19 restrictions for Dublin, the Government will respond accordingly, and it will do so quickly. She also said that there are strong indications that a decision to tighten restrictions in the capital could be made by the Government on Friday. McEntee said: "If there is a requirement to go even further for the county of Dublin, then we will act on that and we will do that." Dublin, along with the rest of the country, is currently on a Level 2 status, but special measures, including specific guidance on social gatherings and a further delay in the reopening of pubs which do not serve food, will apply until further notice. People from Dublin are currently being advised to restrict their movements and increase control measures such as limiting social contacts, practicing physical distancing and hand hygiene, but as it stands, this remains advice, and no additional safety measures are in place. Speaking on Wednesday, acting CMO Ronan Glynn said: "Equally, if possible, and we’re asking people - this is the nuance, this is the proportionality - we’re asking people, if possible, to avoid travel outside of Dublin for the coming couple of weeks." Regarding Dublin, Glynn wrote in a letter to Minister for Health Simon Donnelly dated 11 September of his belief that the most likely scenario, if no additional measures were taken, "is that approximately 300 cases a day will be reported in Dublin by the end of September". “While the number of cases in Dublin has been rising slowly and moderately, the population size of Dublin means that it represents a substantial disease reservoir that, if left unchecked, has the potential to transmit widely and quickly both within Dublin and to other areas of the country,” Glynn wrote.