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The Gardaí has started an investigation to identify the organizers of an anti-blockade demonstration in Letterkenny, Co Donegal this afternoon.
At around 2 p.m. a rally was held in protest of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in place in the county.
Dozens of protesters gathered in the Market Square area of the city and did not appear to be observing social distancing or covering their faces.
The rally took place less than a day after the county entered a Level Three lockdown following a two-week increase in the incident rate for coronavirus infections.
According to the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC), the incident rate stands at 148 per 100,000 in the last 14 days.
Letterkenny today, a few hours after the county entered a level 3 lockdown 🤦♀️ pic.twitter.com/YXxikkL4Et
– suzy⁷ (@KookiesLeftNip) September 26, 2020
In a statement tonight, Gardaí said an investigation is underway to identify the organizers of the meeting.
It is a criminal offense under the Health Act of 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No 5) Regulations 2020 to organize a public meeting since the law went into effect on September 19, 2020. According to regulation Act 15: “A person will not organize, or cause to be organized, a relevant event in a relevant county.”
Gardaí said they are not investigating violations of public health regulations, such as lack of social distance or wearing a mask in public, as they are non-criminal offenses.
Yesterday, the Gardaí announced the start of Operation Fannacht to support public health regulations in Co Donegal when a Level Three lockdown went into effect.
As part of this operation, checkpoints were established to ensure compliance and a high level of visibility for Gardaí was announced in public services in nearby Sligo and Leitrim counties.
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