Ireland is loosening the restrictions. End of lockdown

The six-week lockdown in Ireland will end next week and the level of restrictions will be lowered from the fifth, the highest, to the third, the Irish government said.

From Tuesday, December 1, all shops and service points will be reopened, including hairdressing and beauty salons, museums, galleries and gyms, and the temples will be able to hold worship services. On Friday, December 4, restaurants and pubs will be able to resume operations, which in addition to alcohol also serve food, and hotels can start accepting guests. Pubs that don’t sell meals can still only run on a take-away system.

From December 18, it will be possible to meet in closed rooms with members of two other households, and in the period from December 18 to January 6, restrictions on moving around the country will be lifted. Until then, people should still remain in the counties where they live, unless there are compelling reasons to move, such as working, studying or caring for someone in need. The recommendation to work from home will still apply, if possible.

As the lockdown ends, the government recommends covering nose and mouths in crowded workplaces, in temples, and in crowded open spaces from December 1.

Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he understands that people are fed up with the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, and admitted that he himself often felt tired of them. However, he pointed out that all efforts and sacrifices worked and many lives were saved.

He added that thanks to this, it was possible to significantly halt the progress of the epidemic, and that in Ireland the number of infections in relation to the population is now the second lowest in Europe.

The Irish government reported on Friday (November 27) that 206 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were detected in the country in the last 24 hours, and seven more deaths due to COVID-19 were registered. This is the lowest daily number of infections in over two months.

As a result, the daily average of detected infections in the last seven days has dropped to 278, from 399 in the previous seven days, and 1124 in the first week of lockdown. Also, the number of deaths in the last seven days – 27 – is the lowest in six weeks.

The total epidemic in Ireland is 71,699 detected infections and 2,043 deaths.

Bartłomiej Niedziński (PAP)

Want to know more about the coronavirus pandemic? Check the statistics:

Poland against the backdrop of the world

Situation in individual countries

Indicators per million inhabitants

–