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On Saturday, the Irish Department of Public Health announced another death from coronavirus
Restrictions in Kildare, Laois and Offaly in the future may apply to other areas in the future, Ireland’s acting medical officer has said.
Residents are not allowed to travel outside of these counties except in limited circumstances.
The restrictions, announced on Friday in response to a spike in Covid-19 cases, came into effect at midnight.
Cafes, restaurants and bars are closed, and there will be no sporting events.
Cinemas and gyms were also closed under the restrictions, which will remain in place for two weeks.
“It will not take much for other regions to have a problem,” Dr Ronan Glynn told RTÉ.
“We need to be careful of everyone and follow public health guidelines.”
‘Compassionate grounds’
On Saturday, the Irish Department of Public Health announced another death from coronavirus and 174 new cases, 110 of them in County Kildare.
Dr Glynn said the National Emergency Team of Public Health had expected an increase in cases.
“Throughout the week, we tested all workers in facilities in which outbreaks of Covid-19 were identified, as well as close contacts of those people who received Covid positive results,” he said.
“Our priority now and our reason for recommending the proactive measures, is to prevent these cases and clusters that lead to widespread transmission of the disease to the community.”
Under the restrictions, residents will be allowed to travel outside the three counties for the following reasons:
- To travel to and from work, where it is not possible to work from home
- Attend medical appointments and collect medications and other health products
- For vital family reasons such as caring for children, the elderly or vulnerable – but excluding social visits
- For farm purposes, including food production and animal care.
People are asked not to travel to these counties except for work.
Visits to nursing homes, prisons, and acute care facilities in these three counties should be suspended, except on compassionate grounds.
Checkpoints have been set up by Gardaí (Irish police) in areas within the boundaries of the counties to ensure that the public complies with the restrictions.
Places of worship may remain open for private prayer, but the government insists that masses and religious services be provided online. Up to 25 people can attend funerals.
No sporting events or competitions should take place, however, sports and training without contact may continue outside, subject to a maximum of 15 people.
All indoor meetings, including any type of household, private family or social indoor meeting of people will be limited to a maximum of six people from a total of no more than three households.
‘Equal responsibility’
In a televised address on Friday evening, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said clusters were a ‘serious concern’ and ‘we need to protect public health’, adding that “everything else is secondary.”
He said while the government would do everything possible to prevent a return to high levels of transfer, citizens held an “equal responsibility”.
“Pause and reflect on what you can do to support those companies that follow the advice and steer clear of those who are not,” he said.
He urged people to live the words of the late SDLP leader John Hume, who said “solidarity is strength”.
- Pubs to stay closed in Republic of Ireland
- Facial coverage recommended at Irish high schools
A large number of Kildare cases have been linked to outbreaks in meat and food processing plants.
One Kildare employer, O’Brien Fine Foods, in Timahoe, confirmed that it had stopped operations after 80 of its staff tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement, the food company said it had involved a private test provider and added “the level of asymptomatic infectivity seems to be very high”.
Earlier this week, Prof Philip Nolan of the National Emergency Team of Public Health confirmed that the R rate of the Republic of Ireland was now estimated at 1.8.
The R rate, as a reproduction period, refers to the average number of people a newly infected person is expected to transmit the virus after contracting the disease.
Prof Nolan said a reproduction number of almost two is a “serious concern”.
He added that “although we have not yet seen a significant increase in community transmission, there is a significant risk that this could develop in the coming days and weeks”.
