Ireland’s coronavirus lockdown will continue for another six weeks until 5 March after the Government decided to extend the current restrictions.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the Level 5 restrictions are having a positive impact, bringing down the number of Covid-19 cases in the country.
Under Level 5 restrictions, marts are required to operate on an online-only basis, which they have been doing since the measures were introduced in December 2020.
The Premier urged people to stay home and avoid making journeys unless absolutely necessary. He added that the hospitals are under enormous pressure and health workers must be protected.
Essential activities and services including farming; farm labour; farm relief services; crop and animal production; forestry, horticulture, veterinary and marts can all continue during the Level 5 restrictions.
Cabinet signed off on an extension of the current Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions and a range of measures designed to curb travel.
Plans include mandatory quarantine for those arriving from South Africa and Brazil as well as those without PCR tests. In addition, those arriving without a negative PCR test will be fined up to €2,500 or face six months in prison.
There will also be extra Garda checkpoints at ports and airports to stop unnecessary travel and increased checks on returning passengers.
The Level 5 restrictions, introduced on Christmas Eve in 2020, would have expired at the end of January. This is the third nationwide lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020.
To date, there have been 189,851 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 3,066 related deaths in Ireland. More than 140,000 people have been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccines and up to four million people will get the two-dose vaccine by the end of September 2021.
LSL News.