Non-essential retail and gyms will shut at the close of business on Thursday as part of the return to a full-scale Level 5 lockdown.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned Ireland is no longer in a containment phase, but rather a mitigation phase, saying we must take action immediately to avoid an "unimaginable scenario" of case numbers doubling in the space of a week.
From midnight on Wednesday, no household gatherings are permitted, with the reintroduction of the 5km travel limit to allow people to exercise outdoors near their home.
Schools will reopen following the Christmas break, but the date has been pushed back from January 6th to January 11th, while only six people will be permitted to attend weddings and up to 10 mourners permitted at funerals.
The restrictions will remain in place until January 31st.
Stay at home
People are being urged to stay at home except for essential reasons, such as to go to work (if you cannot work from home), school, or to provide essential care or childcare services.
A double payment of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), up to a maximum of €5,000 a week will be available to those subject to restrictions this week and next week.
Businesses affected will also be able to avail of commercial rates relief for the first three months of 2021
The international travel ban for passengers arriving from Britain will be extended to January 6th and will also include passengers from South Africa where another new variant of the virus has also been discovered.
Cabinet agreed on the new measures after the largest daily increase in cases was recorded on Wednesday, when the Department of Health was notified of 1,718 new cases and 13 additional Covid-related deaths.
In a statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), Dr Holohan said everyone should "consider themselves potentially infectious".
“We must take action immediately to prevent an almost unimaginable scenario, where case numbers in 7 to 10 days time are twice what they are today. Stay home.”#StayHomeSaveLives #COVID19 @President_MU
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) December 30, 2020
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the current rate of infection is putting non-Covid hospital services at risk, with the number of people hospitalised with the virus almost doubling in the past week, while HSE CEO Paul Reid expressed concern at the positivity rate, which has now increased to almost 20 per cent.
Mr Reid said a "toxic and unprecedented level of scenarios" have emerged as a result of the increase in cases.
In the North, 2,143 new cases of the virus were confirmed on Wednesday, the region's highest number to date.
