“The virus is growing quickly around the country, we need to move fast.”
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said the new guidelines in the government’s Covid-19 plan will come into effect from midnight.
The government is set to publish its medium term plan for living with Covid-19 later today, following a meeting of cabinet.
It’s expected the final details of the plan will be announced to the public this afternoon.
The plan will involve a risk ranking system graded from one to five, with five being a full lockdown similar to what occurred throughout the country in March, and one being the least severe.
It’s understood the country will be considered at level two, but there will be increased restrictions in Dublin initially due to an increased number of cases in the county.
Speaking to RTÉ this morning, Donnelly said that the restrictions would come into effect at midnight tonight.
“The virus is growing quickly around the country, we need to move fast,” he said.
“We know how to do it – we’ve done it before, we will do it again. Suppress the virus, we’ve got to keep the schools and hospitals open.”
It’s expected so-called ‘wet pubs’ will be asked to remain closed in the capital next week.
There will also be strong advice for people who work in Dublin to do so from home if possible and to try and avoid any travel outside of the capital.
A final decision on restrictions is expected to be announced this afternoon.
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