Ireland extends COVID-19 lockdown by one month



Ireland's third COVID-19 lockdown will be extended by a month, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday (Feb 23), blaming a virus variant first identified in the United Kingdom for the decision.

Current lockdown measures - in place since late December - were due to expire on Mar 5, but will now be prolonged until Apr 5.

Non-essential businesses, restaurants, pubs and gyms are to remain shut, government "stay home" advice has been renewed and a 5km travel limit will continue, Martin said in a televised address.

"We need to use the month of March to really drive down case numbers and get them as low as possible," he said.

"We just need to stay focused and get through these next few months safely together."

The Irish prime minister emphasised that a coronavirus variant first identified in the UK - and in Ireland on Dec 25 - had become a "major problem", and was now responsible for "up to 90 per cent" of new infections.

"It is equivalent to a new virus almost," he said.

"The truth is that it has changed the dynamic significantly, and we need to be very careful as we take the next steps forward."

You can read this news here. : ความรับผิดชอบของ เกม SLOTXO ต่อสังคม ที่ไม่เคยมองข้าม