The Government has decided to move the whole of Ireland to level 5 on the
Plan for living with COVID-19. The plan is a framework for managing COVID-19 in Ireland and sets out 5 levels that correspond to the severity of COVID-19 in a location.
Ireland will move to level 5 of the plan for 6 weeks with a review after 4 weeks.
The Taoiseach has also announced a new provision of support bubbles – where people who live alone or are isolated can pair with another household. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) will both be increased and the the moratorium on evictions will be reinstated.
Level 5 means that you are asked to stay at home, with the exception of exercise within 5 kilometres of your home. There will be no social or family gatherings. You can meet with 1 other household in an outdoor setting which is not a home or garden, such as a park, including for exercise. Weddings can continue to have up to 25 people in attendance and up to 10 people can attend a funeral.
Only essential workers can travel to work and only essential retail and essential services can remain open. Construction and manufacturing can stay in operation. In addition:
- Schools, creches and outdoor play areas remain open with restrictive measures in place.
- People over 70 and people who are medically vulnerable should avoid public transport, shop during designated hours and limit their interactions to a small number of people.
- Visits to nursing and care homes are suspended except in critical and compassionate circumstances.
- Public transport can operate with capacity restricted to 25%.
