Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced further measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.
From midnight tonight until April 12th everybody must stay at home except for limited reasons.
People will be allow to leave their homes to go to essential work, to shop, to attend medical appointments, vital family reasons like caring for children/ elderly or for exercise.
A list of essential workers will be published.
Public transport will be restricted to essential workers and more non-essential shops will also be closed
There is also to be cuccooning measures for older people.
Today saw the highest jump in the number of cases yet - with 302 confirmed - bringing the total in the Republic of Ireland over 2,000 cases for the first time.
Three more people have died of the virus, bringing the figure to 22 overall.
Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar - Transmission in the community now accounts for more than half of all cases. With effect from midnight tonight, for a two-week period, everybody must stay at home in all circumstances, except for the following situations. #Covid19Ireland https://t.co/uJFfxEzexl
— MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) March 27, 2020
Health Minister Simon Harris has said the measures are temporary, and normality will resume in time.
"It has been a shock to many of us to see the numbers of deaths grow in recent days, this is the reality we face, this is the now we are living in.
"We have to accept these temporary but difficult decisions now in the hope of better times ahead.
"Time will come again where our life will go back to normal when the distance we now have to put between us can fall away."
