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Hundreds of people appeared to give two fingers to the rules of social distancing last night as they partied on a street in Dublin city center.
Embarrassing images emerged this morning of revelers crowding South William Street in tight groups without masks.
The video, which follows the street, shows crowds of people lining the street, with dozens more outside the Powerscourt Townhouse Center and outside the Grogan pub, Dublin Live reports.
Many appear to be drinking take out pints while others are drinking cans of beer.
Under current Level 5 restrictions, people can only meet members of another household outside.
The shocking scenes came just hours after the medical director expressed concern that people were becoming complacent in the fight against COVID-19.
Speaking after 456 new infections were confirmed yesterday, Dr. Tony Holohan revealed that the five-day moving average of the number of cases increased from 354 to 392.
He said: “We have seen higher numbers in recent days than we expected based on the encouraging trends of the last three weeks. We are concerned that this progress is at risk.
“We have to remember that the virus is still very active in the community and we cannot lose our guard. NPHET will continue to monitor the situation closely for the next few days.
“We all need to focus on what we can do to stop the spread of this disease; wash our hands regularly, cover our faces, stay away from others, avoid crowds, limit our social network, know the symptoms, isolate ourselves, and contact a GP if we have them.
“Stay home and restrict our movements if you are a close contact for a confirmed case.”
A garda spokesperson said Dublin Live officers attended the scene on South William Street last night to disperse the crowd.
He said: “Gardai maintained a presence in the area. No breaches of regulations were detected.
“Several patrols were carried out in the area during the course of the night.
“The Minister of Health signed the Health Act of 1947 (Section 31A-Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (Amendment) (No.8) Regulations of 2020 in accordance with the Health (Preservation and protection and other emergency measures of public interest) Law 2020 that entered into force on 10/22/2020.
“In supporting COVID-19 public health guidelines and regulations, An Garda Síochána has adopted and will continue to adopt a graduated police response based on its tradition of consent policing.
“This has seen Garda members participate, explain, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce.
“The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health crisis and An Garda Síochána continues to call on all citizens to comply with the Public Health Guidelines and Regulations, in particular essential travel, in order to continue saving lives “.
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