Ireland closes all schools and universities as a result of coronavirus outbreak

Coronavirus: The symptoms  Follow our LIVE updates on the coronavirus outbreak here
Bonnie Christian12 March 2020

Leo Varadkar has announced that all schools, colleges and childcare facilities in Ireland will close until March 29 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Schools and childcare facilities in Ireland will close from 6pm today and will not reopen until March 29 to help contain the spread of coronavirus, the Irish premier said.

He added that teaching will be done online or remotely and state-run “cultural institutions” will close.

Museums, galleries and tourist sites will also close.

Indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor meetings of more than 500 will be cancelled.

But, Mr Varadkar said public transport will continue to operate and shops will remain open.

Anyone entering Ireland will be informed of the measures and asked to self-isolate if they are displaying symptoms, the he added.

Working from home will be encouraged but where people do congregate in offices break times should be “staggered”.

Meetings should be done remotely but restaurants, cafes and other businesses can stay open.

Mr Varadkar said: “People should seek to reduce social interactions as much as possible.”

People would be asked to self-isolate for 14 days if they have symptoms of Covid-19.

He warned older people and those with chronic diseases are at real risk.

“We have a duty as a society to protect ourselves and above all to protect others – our parents and grandparents, our family and friends, co-workers and neighbours.

“We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory. This is uncharted territory.

“We said we would take the right actions at the right time. We have to move now to have the greatest impact.”

The Taoiseach said Ireland will use substantial but not unlimited resources to address the crisis.

He added that acting as one nation could save lives and that the economy will suffer, but “we can bounce back”.

“We are a great nation and we have overcome many trials in the past with our determination, and we will prevail again,” Mr Varadkar said.

Irish deputy premier Simon Coveney said the radical measures will be a lot for the Irish public to take in.

“We are asking Irish people to stay apart,” he said.

“The days and weeks ahead will be difficult and the government cannot do this on its own.

“The most effective tool is to do everything we can to slow down the spread. Those who are vulnerable are precious.

“It will have a deep impact on people’s abilities to do their job.

“We are asking people to continue to work where possible. Those who go to the places of work should limit contact.”

It comes as Boris Johnson is expected to accept that the coronavirus outbreak can no longer be contained in the UK , signalling the start of the next phase in the battle against Covid-19.

The Prime Minister will chair a Cobra meeting at lunchtime on Thursday where ministers are expected to agree to move into the “delay” stage of the process.

Moving to delay would mean social distancing measures could be brought in, such as restricting public gatherings and issuing more widespread advice to stay at home.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in