Dublin Hit With New Restrictions Amid Coronavirus Surge

(Bloomberg) -- Ireland moved to tighten restrictions in Dublin, in an effort to contain a coronavirus surge in the capital.

Under the new guidelines, people are advised not to travel to or from the Dublin region. Indoor dining in bars and restaurants is banned, pubs that don’t serve food will stay closed, and gatherings of all types heavily restricted. The restrictions will come into force from midnight for at least the next three weeks.

“We are in a very dangerous place,” Prime Minister Micheal Martin told reporters in Dublin Friday. “Without further urgent and decisive action, there is a very real threat that Dublin could return to the worst days of this crisis.”

Like many European nations, Ireland is grappling with an outbreak now centered on its largest city. This week, the nation recorded its most new cases in one day since May, with Dublin accounting for about two thirds of new infections.

The country reported a 14-day average of 57 cases per 100,000 of population on Friday, compared to about 3 at the end of June. In Dublin, the average is about 114 per 100,000, according to Irish health authorities.

The tighter rules for the city come days after the government rolled out a five-level system of restrictions to manage the virus for the months ahead. While the rest of the country will remain at stage two, Dublin will move to stage three.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.