THREE further counties are on the brink of lockdown after the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) expressed concerns over their rising rates of Covid-19.
Counties Louth, Waterford and Donegal are being monitored closely and could be set to join Dublin on Level 3 of the new 'Living With Covid' plan.
Under Level 3 restrictions, people won't be allowed to enter or leave the county, other than for absolutely essential reasons.
The rest of the country will remain on level 2, and Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has urged the public to continue to follow all necessary public health guidelines to keep it that way.
"The current situation has deteriorated in both Dublin and nationally over the past week," Dr Glynn said.
"Along with Dublin we have seen particularly concerning trends in Louth, Waterford and Donegal.
"It is absolutely essential that people follow public health advice and act as if they or those close to the are potentially infectious."
Of the 254 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Ireland on Wednesday, 136 of them were in Dublin, 20 were in Donegal, 13 were in Louth and nine were in Waterford.
If localised lockdowns were enforced, Donegal, Louth and Waterford would follow in the footsteps of Offaly and Laois - which were plunged into a two week lockdown back in August - and Kildare - which was locked down for three weeks last month.
