Level-3 COVID-19 response declared for entire Ireland amid rising cases

The decision is "in response to the deteriorating situation with the virus across the country," said a government press statement.

Under the Level-3 response, people can not travel outside of their own county, nor are they allowed to travel internationally, with the exception of those who must travel for work, education and other essential purposes.

All indoor museums, galleries, cinemas and other cultural attractions should close and libraries will be available only for e-services.

Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs can only provide outdoor service to a maximum of 15 people in addition to take-away and delivery services. Wet pubs or pubs not serving food in Dublin shall remain closed.

People are asked to work from home unless absolutely necessary and public transport is available only for essential workers.Matches or other sporting events will be banned with very few exceptions.

No organized indoor gatherings should take place and organized outdoor gatherings are permitted up to a maximum of 15 people.

No social or family gatherings should take place other than weddings and funerals, with the number of people attending such events each capped at 25.

Visitors to private homes, including gardens, should be limited to a maximum number of six from one other household.

However, schools, childcare services, higher education institutions, all retail shops and shopping centers, barbershops, beauty salons and other services in the country will remain open, but with strict adherence to public health guidance urged.

Prior to this, the Irish government had announced a Level-3 response in Dublin and Donegal, a county in the country's north. The Level-3 restrictions in these two areas will be extended until Oct. 27 following the latest decision by the government.

Last month, the Irish government introduced a new five-level risk rating system to cope with the pandemic in the country with Level 1 being the lowest and having the least amount of restrictive measures in place and Level 5 being the highest and having the most restrictions in place.

Ireland has witnessed a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the last couple of months. On Saturday, the country reported 613 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest figure ever recorded in a day since the end of April when the country was at the peak of the crisis.

To date, there have been a total of 38,549 confirmed cased of COVID-19 in Ireland with 1,810 fatalities, according to the Irish Department of Health.