Gardaí shut down house party in Longford over coronavirus concerns
"We ask people and families to be responsible, not to attend popular locations and where the number of persons starts to increase at any location to leave such areas."
Gardaí have issued a social distancing warning to the public after shutting down a house party in Longford on Saturday night (21 March).
The Gardaí cited "public health concerns" in their decision to remove the crowd of people socialising in the house on Saturday.
The crowd dispersed without incident.
"An Garda Síochána acknowledges that the majority of the public are being responsible and making great efforts to implement social distancing," notes a Garda statement issued to JOE on Monday.
"This includes staying active as a family unit and availing of fresh air and exercise. However the presence of large crowds of small individual groups potentially reduces the effective impact of social distancing.
"We ask people and families to be responsible, not to attend popular locations and where the number of persons starts to increase at any location to leave such areas."
On Monday evening, the Department of Health confirmed 219 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland. Two further deaths were announced; two males in the east of the country.
There are now 1,125 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland. Combined with the latest figures from Northern Ireland, there are now 1,273 cases on the island of Ireland.
An Garda Síochána is reminding people of guidelines in relation to social distancing, underlining the importance of keeping a two-metre (six feet) space between individuals.
Gardaí advise people not to shake hands or make close contact where possible to minimise physical contact between potentially infected individuals and healthy individuals.
