TAOISEACH MICHEÁL Martin addressed the nation of Ireland on Friday evening, and announced a string of new restrictions to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
The measures came into effect from midnight, Monday 20 December, and will be in place until 30 January.
Here's everything you need to know.
Hospitality
All restaurants, bars and cafes, excluding take-away or delivery services, will close at 8pm.
This will also apply to hotel restaurants and bars, except for overnight residents.
Indoor and outdoor events, entertainment and sport
No indoor events, including entertainment, cultural, community and sporting events, will take place after 8pm in line with the above for the hospitality sector.
Attendance at these sort of events, if happening earlier in the day, should be limited to 50% of venue capacity or 1,000 attendees, whichever is the lower.
Cinemas are included in this category, although religious, educational or normal workplace business activity and business events such as conferences and business events are not impacted.
Attendance at outdoor events, including entertainment, cultural, community and sporting events, should be limited to 50% of venue capacity or 5,000 attendees, whichever is the lower.
Weddings
Attendance at weddings has once again been capped at 100 guests, reverting to a number that was previously in place.
While live music is allowed, a closing time of midnight still applies.
Household gatherings
One household can have visitors from three other households.
Work
People are still being asked to work from home where possible. Where business activity or events must take place they will be allowed to continue beyond 8pm.
International travel
All persons arriving into the State from overseas will continue to be required to have an antigen or PCR tests in line with their vaccination/recovery or unvaccinated status.
However, advice that all arrivals from Great Britain should take daily antigen tests for five days has been updated to include all arrivals from all countries.
Close contacts
New guidance has been issued for those who are deemed close contacts of a confirmed case.
Those that have received a booster (effective from one week after receiving the booster dose) are advised to restrict movements for five days with three antigen tests.
Those that have not received a booster (including those not fully vaccinated) are asked to restrict movements for ten days. The HSE will consider the most appropriate testing schedule for this cohort and will will incorporate this into the advice for close contacts in the coming days.
