DUBLIN HAS been placed into lockdown following a spike in coronavirus cases.
Under the new Level Three restrictions, people will not be allowed to leave or enter the county unless they are required to for work, education or other necessary reasons.
For the next three weeks, indoor dining at restaurants and pubs will also be prohibited in the Irish capital in a move that has left many establishments will little option but to temporarily close.
Those that remain open will be allowed to offer takeaway services and outdoor dining for a maximum of 15 customers.
All indoor gatherings have been banned, while all organised outdoor gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 15 people.
Weddings and funerals will still be allowed to take place but with a maximum of 25 guests. Other religious services in Dublin, however, will move online.
Several communions and confirmations have already been called off following the announcement.
No more than six people from any one household will be allowed to visit another home.
While professional sport will be allowed to take place without spectators,
Parks, leisure centres, hairdressers and hotels will remain open, albeit with prohibitive measures in place.
Libraries, schools and creches will also stay open with restrictions in place.
(Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)Wet pubs in Dublin will remain closed despite plans for the reopening of these bars across the rest of Ireland from Monday.
Announcing the measures, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there will be more gardaí on patrol in Dublin to enforce the rules.
"I think there will be an increased presence, so we can reduce large gathering and Gardaí, in their operational duties, make judgement calls on that every day and every week and they will continue to do so,” he said.
"Fundamentally, we must get across the message that the numbers are rising. We've got to arrest the growth in cases.
The move comes after public health experts in Ireland raised concerns after Dublin’s 14-day incidence rate for coronavirus jumped to more than 100.
