Ireland imposes COVID-19 restrictions due to high rate of infections

Published on : Friday, November 19, 2021

Ireland has imposed new COVID-19 restrictions come into force in Ireland from midnight on Thursday (November 18) due to high rates of infection that have put pressure on hospitals.

The people are told to work from home unless attending the workplace is “absolutely necessary”. A requirement for COVID-19 passes (based on vaccination or recovery) is extended to cinemas and theatres, while closing times for all on-licensed premises, including in hotels, will move to midnight.

With immediate effect, household close contacts who are fully vaccinated and showing no symptoms should restrict their movements until they have 3 negative antigen test results taken within a 5-day period.

Announcing the measures, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said that without the country’s massive vaccination campaign, Ireland would be in “total lockdown”. Nearly 90% of people over 12 years old are fully vaccinated.

The measures follow stark warnings from health officials, who say modelling predicts a steep rise in case numbers and hospital admissions under the most pessimistic scenarios.