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Restrictions including the re-introduction of the ‘5km from home’ rule have been re-introduced to combat Covid-19 in the Republic. The '5km from home' rule applies from midnight tonight.
While it had been planned that people would be allowed to move around their own county, which would have facilitated a lot of cycling activity, this plan is now abandoned and the 5km rule is back.
The Cabinet has met today to consider added restrictions to combat the worsening spread of Covid-19 in the Republic, which has been greatly complicated by the new variant of the virus.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin (FF) made a public address at 6pm to announce the decisions taken at today’s Cabinet meeting confirming Level 5 would return until the end of January, including the 5km rule.
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That rule means anyone in the Republic can only exercise outside within a 5km radius of their home.
Mr Martin added 18 per cent of people being tested for Covid-19 in the Republic were now testing positive, compared to just 5 per cent testing positive only one week ago.
There had been a 61 per cent increase in the number of new cases over the past seven days, when over 8,000 new cases were confirmed.
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"This latest surge is different to the second wave," he said of the much more rapid rates of transmission associated with the new variant of the virus.
This morning there were 454 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals in the Republic, "almost double" the number of one week ago. During this latest surge, there was no time gap between a spike in the rate of new cases and an increase in hospital admissions.
However, Mr Martin added tens of thousands of healthcare workers and vulnerable people would be vaccinated by the end of the month. In the meantime, the new round of restrictions would keep as many people as possible safe.
A return to "full scale" Level 5 was required "to apply the brakes" to movement and people meeting across the country, he added.
It was also confirmed this evening that 1,718 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed today, as well as the deaths of 13 people with Covid-19.
Earlier the HSE’s chief executive Paul Reid issued a stark warning to people to cancel any plans regardless of what the Government announced later in the day.
“We're all extremely high risk in many parts of the
country, the transmission levels are at quite a worrying level across the
community,” he said.
“So I call on everybody to really take immediate actions
regardless of what decisions are made later by the Government.
“We need everybody to take immediate and urgent reactions. Withdraw from any plans, arrangements, activities we may have had and really do protect yourself.”
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