Tonight, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has enacted further measures in order to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He stated that, from midnight tonight, people must stay in their homes until April 12th unless they have to leave for a small number of circumstances.
Unless you have to work on the frontline, travelling for work purposes will be prohibited. Also, all public and private gatherings outside of a single household will be prohibited.
People can also leave their homes for exercise provided they are by themselves and within a 2km radius of their home.
These measures have come in after the news today that the number of people who have contracted the virus in the Republic of Ireland has surpassed 2,100. Furthermore, 22 people have already died due to the disease.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urges people to stay at home and agree to these restrictions to save lives | Follow live updates: https://t.co/W2t5MvPevS pic.twitter.com/IaMiee6KRB
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 27, 2020
Also, all non-essential health services will be postponed. 'Cocooning' will be introduced for those over 70 years of age.
Health Minister Simon Harris has said that "it is not going to get any easier in the days ahead, but the further measures are needed in order to give ourselves the best chance of reducing the spread of the virus and save lives".
It was a sentiment echoed by Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, with Dr Holohan saying that "with these measures, we can turn the infection from a community-based one, to a household-based one, and thus slow down its spread and save lives".
These measures will be put in place until Easter Sunday, though depending on their effectiveness, they could last longer.
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