Taoiseach Micheal Martin has confirmed Dublin will see additional restrictions as he announced a new 'Living with Covid' plan.
The Government has made a special exception for the Capital after soaring new Covid case numbers.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “Current Covid numbers in Dublin are very worrying and the Government has decided today to introduce additional measures to address this.”
The biggest hammer blow will be for the pub trade as the Coalition has decided it is not yet safe to reopen the ‘wet pubs’ in Dublin.
But bars all over the rest of the country will be able to open with restrictions in place from next Monday.
This will see the country classified as Level Two in the new Living with Covid alert system.
But the latest stats show that Dubs are up to 30 times more likely to contract the deadly virus in Dublin than some other counties, like Sligo, so a special exception is being made.
The capital city will see it set at a hybrid alert level, between two and three, for the coming weeks, with ongoing reviews to assess the virus’ progress.
Follow all the latest updates on today's announcement in our live blog HERE.
The five-level plan will see different regions graded based on the prevalence of Covid-19 in the area.
Level one will be the minimum amount of restrictions, while level five will see a return to the lockdown of March and April.
Sporting events will be allowed to have spectators under specific conditions.
All the new rules will come into force from midnight tonight.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the people of Dublin must follow the “Four Ws” to limit the spread of Covid-19.
- Don’t Welcome more than one other household into your home
- Wash your hands
Watch your distance - maintain 2m distance at all times
Wear a facemask or face covering
Further restrictions will be assessed based on a number of factors, including the amount of confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 population over the last 14 days.
By this key measure, the capital is by far the hardest hit area in the country.
The latest statistics from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show Dublin has an incidence of 95.1.
The next highest county is Louth, on 66.7, followed by Leitrim on 65.5.
Limerick, on 63.1, and Kildare, on 61.6, are also areas with some cause for concern.
