COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland

For Northern Ireland, see COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.

COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
COVID-19 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population by county, 11 January 2021 Ireland: 1,487.9 (-42.3) (17 January 2021)   ≥2,032   1,427–2,032   1,095–1,427   912–1,095   <912 Vaccinated: 77,303 (13 January 2021)
(clockwise from top) "Wash your hands" window message in Dame Street, Dublin An empty waiting room in Connolly Hospital in Dublin A COVID-19 street safety sign in Douglas, Cork A COVID-19 supermarket safety sign in Cork Deserted M50 motorway near Castleknock College Green in Dublin A boarded-up Monsoon store on Grafton Street
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Republic of Ireland
Index case	Dublin
Arrival date	29 February 2020 (10 months, 2 weeks and 6 days ago)
Confirmed cases	172,726 (+2,944) (17 January 2021)
Hospitalised cases	1,928 (+74) (active) (17 January 2021) 8,918 (total)
Critical cases	195 (+4) (active) (17 January 2021) 890 (total)
Ventilator cases	108 (-3) (active) (17 January 2021)
Recovered	24,000 (30 July 2020)
Deaths	2,608 (+13) (17 January 2021)
Fatality rate	1.51%
Government website
Gov.ie – COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

The COVID-19 pandemic reached the Republic of Ireland on 29 February 2020, within three weeks, cases had been confirmed in all counties. The pandemic affected many aspects of society. On 12 March, the government shut all schools, colleges, childcare facilities and cultural institutions, they advised cancelling large gatherings. St Patrick's Day festivities were called off, and the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, addressed the nation that night. On 24 March, almost all businesses, venues, facilities and amenities were shut; but gatherings of up to four people were allowed. Three days later on 27 March, the government imposed a stay-at-home order, banning all non-essential travel and contact with people outside one's home (including family and partners). The elderly and those with certain health conditions were told to cocoon. People were made keep apart in public. The Garda Síochána were given power to enforce the measures, which were repeatedly extended until 18 May.

The restrictions imposed caused a severe recession, an unprecedented rise in unemployment and caused major damage to all sectors. A COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and a Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme were set up. The 2020 Leaving Certificate, Junior Certificate and all 2020 Irish language summer courses in the Gaeltacht were cancelled. The Health Service Executive (HSE) launched a recruitment campaign, asking both healthcare and non-healthcare professionals to "be on call for Ireland". The previous government of the 32nd Dáil remained in post during the initial several months of the pandemic until its successor was appointed on 27 June. Dáil Éireann sat with fewer members and moved from its traditional home at Leinster House to the Convention Centre to facilitate social distancing requirements. The Oireachtas passed an emergency act giving the state power to detain people, restrict travel and keep people in their homes to control the virus's spread. Further emergency legislation passed the following week.

By mid-April, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) reported that the growth rate of the pandemic had been driven "as low as it needs to be", that the curve had flattened and that there would be no peak coming. Daily cases and deaths slowly declined in June and July 2020. In August, a three-week regional lockdown was imposed in three counties following a significant rise in confirmed cases mainly in meat processing plants. In October 2020, lockdown restrictions were reimplemented nationwide following a rapid surge in confirmed cases and the introduction of a second wave of COVID-19 in Ireland. The second lockdown resulted in Ireland's 14-day incidence rate to be the lowest in the European Union, while restrictions eased in early December. A third wave of COVID-19 arrived in Ireland after restrictions eased. The government acted swiftly and on 24 December (Christmas Eve), lockdown restrictions were reimplemented nationwide following another surge in confirmed cases in Ireland. On St Stephen's Day, the first shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the Republic of Ireland. Vaccinations began three days later on 29 December 2020.

By 17 January, the Department of Health had confirmed 172,726 cases and 2,608 deaths. More than 90% of those who have died were aged over 65, and most also had underlying illnesses or lived in care homes.

Statistics

The surveillance of COVID-19 cases has been integrated into the existing national Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) system since COVID-19 was made a notifiable disease on 20 February 2020. CIDR is the information system used to manage the surveillance and control of infectious diseases in Ireland, both at regional and national level. Daily epidemiological reports on COVID-19 are prepared by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) for the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). Additional information, including the actual dates of the backlogged cases announced on 10 April 2020, is provided by the Health Service Executive in its daily operations updates.

By 17 January, the Department of Health had confirmed 172,726 cases and 2,608 deaths; a rate of 34,769 cases per million, 525 deaths per million and 557,665 tests per million population.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases

(*Recoveries and active cases not updated since July 2020)

  Total confirmed cases

  Total deaths

  Health workers

  *Total recovered

  *Active cases

Daily new confirmed cases with 7-day moving average

(Some days include backlog of cases)

Daily new cases (last 14 days in detail)

(Some days include de-notified cases)

Daily new deaths with 7-day moving average

(Some days include backlog of 'probable' deaths)

Daily new deaths (last 14 days in detail)

(Some days include de-notified deaths)

Hospital. ICU. Ventilated

  Currently in hospital

  Currently in ICU

  Currently ventilated

  Daily admitted to hospital

  Daily admitted to ICU

Age profile of cases to 15 January

Age	Cases (%)
0–4	4,104(2.46%)
5–14	10,075(6%)
15–24	30,482(18.3%)
25–34	30,656(18.4%)
35–44	27,003(16.21%)
45–54	25,701(15.43%)
55–64	19,685(11.81%)
65+	22,031(13.22%)
Median age: 38; Mean age: 41; Range: 0-108

Age profile of deaths to 11 January

Age	Deaths (%)
0–24	2(0.09%)
25–34	6(0.27%)
35–44	14(0.6%)
45–54	40(1.7%)
55–64	101(4.3%)
65–74	352(15%)
75–84	787(33.9%)
85+	1,037(44.1%)
Unknown	2(0.09%)
Health Worker	9(0.4%)
Median age: 83; Mean age: 81; Range: 17-105

Transmission breakdown to 15 January

  Community spread (50%)

  Close contact (45%)

  Travel-related (1%)

  Unknown (4%)

Age profile of hospitalised cases to 15 January

Age	Number of cases (%)
0–4	88(1%)
5–14	85(1%)
15–24	344(4.13%)
25–34	592(7.11%)
35–44	690(8.29%)
45–54	1,051(12.63%)
55–64	1,239(14.89%)
65+	4,827(58.17%)

Gender of COVID-19 cases to 16 January

Gender	Number of cases (%)
Female	89,248(52.56%)
Male	80,464(47.39%)
Unknown	70(0.04%)
Total = 169,780

Gender of COVID-19 deaths to 11 January

Gender	Number of deaths (%)
Female	1,139(48.4%)
Male	1,212(51.6%)
Unknown	2(0.09%)

Total clusters and cluster-related cases to 15 January

Classification	Number of clusters
Clusters notified	11,263
Cluster-related cases	47,109

Timeline

Main articles: Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland (January–June 2020), Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland (July–December 2020), and Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland (2021)

COVID-19 cases in the Republic of Ireland  ()      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases        Backlogged cases 2020202020212021 FebFebMarMarAprAprMayMayJunJunJulJulAugAugSepSepOctOctNovNovDecDec JanJan Last 15 daysLast 15 days
Date			# of cases	# of deaths
2020-02-29			1(n.a.)
⋮			1(=)
2020-03-03			2(+100%)
2020-03-04		​	6(+200%)
2020-03-05		​	13(+117%)
2020-03-06		​	18(+38%)
2020-03-07		​	19(+5.6%)
2020-03-08		​	21(+11%)
2020-03-09		​	24(+14%)
2020-03-10		​	34(+42%)
2020-03-11		​	43(+26%)	1(n.a.)
2020-03-12		​	70(+63%)	1(=)
2020-03-13		​	90(+29%)	1(=)
2020-03-14		​	129(+43%)	2(+100%)
2020-03-15		​ ​	169(+31%)	2(=)
2020-03-16		​ ​	223(+32%)	2(=)
2020-03-17		​ ​	292(+31%)	2(=)
2020-03-18		​ ​	366(+25.3%)	2(=7)
⋮
2020-03-20		​ ​	683(n.a.)	3(n.a.)
2020-03-21		​ ​	785(+15%)	3(=)
2020-03-22		​ ​ ​	906(+15%)	4(+33%)
2020-03-23		​ ​ ​	1,125(+24%)	6(+50%)
2020-03-24		​ ​ ​	1,329(+18%)	7(+17%)
2020-03-25		​ ​ ​	1,564(+18%)	9(+29%)
2020-03-26		​ ​ ​	1,819(+16%)	19(+111%)
2020-03-27		​ ​ ​	2,121(+17%)	22(+16%)
2020-03-28		​ ​ ​	2,415(+14%)	36(+64%)
2020-03-29		​ ​ ​	2,615(+8.3%)	46(+28%)
2020-03-30		​ ​ ​	2,910(+11%)	54(+17%)
2020-03-31		​ ​ ​	3,235(+11%)	71(+31%)
2020-04-01		​ ​ ​	3,447(+6.6%)	85(+20%)
2020-04-02		​ ​ ​	3,849(+12%)	98(+15%)
2020-04-03		​ ​ ​	4,273(+11%)	120(+22%)
2020-04-04		​ ​ ​	4,604(+7.7%)	137(+14%)
2020-04-05		​ ​ ​ ​	5,111(+11.0%)	158(+15.3%)
2020-04-06		​ ​ ​ ​	5,859(+14.6%)	174(+10.1%)
2020-04-07		​ ​ ​ ​	6,224(+6.2%)	210(+20.7%)
2020-04-08		​ ​ ​ ​	6,688(+7.5%)	235(+11.9%)
2020-04-09		​ ​ ​ ​	7,393(+10.5%)	263(+11.9%)
2020-04-10		​ ​ ​ ​	8,089(+9.4%)	288(+9.5%)
2020-04-11		​ ​ ​ ​	8,642(+9.8%)	320(+11%)
2020-04-12		​ ​ ​ ​	9,358(+8.3%)	334(+4.4%)
2020-04-13		​ ​ ​ ​	10,182(+8.8%)	365(+9.3%)
2020-04-14		​ ​ ​ ​	11,195(+9.9%)	406(+11%)
2020-04-15		​ ​ ​ ​	12,136(+8.4%)	444(+9.4%)
2020-04-16		​ ​ ​ ​	13,176(+8.6%)	486(+9.5%)
2020-04-17		​ ​ ​ ​	13,868(+5.3%)	530(+9.1%)
2020-04-18		​ ​ ​ ​	14,610(+5.4%)	571(+7.7%)
2020-04-19		​ ​ ​ ​	15,203(+4.1%)	610(+6.8%)
2020-04-20		​ ​ ​	15,652(+3%)	687(+13%)
2020-04-21		​ ​ ​	16,040(+2.5%)	730(+6.3%)
2020-04-22		​ ​ ​	16,671(+3.9%)	769(+5.3%)
2020-04-23		​ ​ ​	17,607(+5.6%)	794(+3.3%)
2020-04-24		​ ​ ​	18,184(+3.3%)	1,014(+27.7%)
2020-04-25		​ ​ ​	18,561(+2.1%)	1,063(+4.8%)
2020-04-26		​ ​ ​	19,262(+3.8%)	1,087(+2.3%)
2020-04-27		​ ​ ​	19,648(+2%)	1,102(+1.4%)
2020-04-28		​ ​ ​	19,877(+1.2%)	1,159(+5.2%)
2020-04-29		​ ​ ​	20,253(+1.9%)	1,190(+2.7%)
2020-04-30		​ ​ ​	20,612(+1.8%)	1,232(+3.5%)
2020-05-01		​ ​ ​	20,833(+1.1%)	1,265(+2.7%)
2020-05-02		​ ​ ​	21,176(+1.6%)	1,286(+1.7%)
2020-05-03		​ ​ ​	21,506(+1.6%)	1,303(+1.3%)
2020-05-04		​ ​ ​	21,772(+1.2%)	1,319(+1.2%)
2020-05-05		​ ​ ​	21,983(+0.97%)	1,339(+1.5%)
2020-05-06		​ ​ ​	22,248(+1.2%)	1,375(+2.7%)
2020-05-07		​ ​ ​	22,385(+0.62%)	1,403(+2%)
2020-05-08		​ ​ ​	22,541(+0.7%)	1,429(+1.9%)
2020-05-09		​ ​ ​	22,760(+0.97%)	1,446(+1.2%)
2020-05-10		​ ​ ​	22,996(+1%)	1,458(+0.83%)
2020-05-11		​ ​ ​	23,135(+0.6%)	1,467(+0.62%)
2020-05-12		​ ​ ​	23,242(+0.46%)	1,488(+1.4%)
2020-05-13		​ ​ ​	23,401(+0.68%)	1,497(+0.6%)
2020-05-14		​ ​ ​ ​	23,827(+1.8%)	1,506(+0.6%)
2020-05-15		​ ​ ​	23,956(+0.5%)	1,518(+0.8%)
2020-05-16		​ ​ ​	24,048(+0.38%)	1,533(+0.99%)
2020-05-17		​ ​ ​	24,112(+0.27%)	1,543(+0.65%)
2020-05-18		​ ​ ​	24,200(+0.36%)	1,547(+0.26%)
2020-05-19		​ ​ ​	24,251(+0.21%)	1,561(+0.9%)
2020-05-20		​ ​ ​	24,315(+0.26%)	1,571(+0.64%)
2020-05-21		​ ​ ​	24,391(+0.31%)	1,583(+0.76%)
2020-05-22		​ ​ ​	24,506(+0.47%)	1,592(+0.57%)
2020-05-23		​ ​ ​	24,582(+0.31%)	1,604(+0.75%)
2020-05-24		​ ​ ​	24,639(+0.23%)	1,606(+0.12%)
2020-05-25		​ ​ ​	24,698(+0.24%)	1,606(=)
2020-05-26		​ ​ ​	24,735(+0.15%)	1,615(+0.56%)
2020-05-27		​ ​ ​	24,803(+0.27%)	1,631(+0.99%)
2020-05-28		​ ​ ​	24,841(+0.15%)	1,639(+0.49%)
2020-05-29		​ ​ ​	24,876(+0.14%)	1,645(+0.37%)
2020-05-30		​ ​ ​	24,929(+0.21%)	1,648(+0.18%)
2020-05-31		​ ​ ​	24,990(+0.24%)	1,649(+0.06%)
2020-06-01		​ ​ ​	25,062(+0.29%)	1,650(+0.06%)
2020-06-02		​ ​ ​	25,066(+0.02%)	1,658(+0.48%)
2020-06-03		​ ​ ​	25,111(+0.18%)	1,659(+0.06%)
2020-06-04		​ ​ ​	25,142(+0.12%)	1,664(+0.3%)
2020-06-05		​ ​ ​	25,163(+0.08%)	1,670(+0.36%)
2020-06-06		​ ​ ​	25,183(+0.08%)	1,678(+0.48%)
2020-06-07		​ ​ ​	25,201(+0.07%)	1,679(+0.06%)
2020-06-08		​ ​ ​	25,207(+0.02%)	1,683(+0.24%)
2020-06-09		​ ​ ​	25,215(+0.03%)	1,691(+0.48%)
2020-06-10		​ ​ ​	25,231(+0.06%)	1,695(+0.24%)
2020-06-11		​ ​ ​	25,238(+0.03%)	1,703(+0.47%)
2020-06-12		​ ​ ​	25,250(+0.05%)	1,705(+0.12%)
2020-06-13		​ ​ ​	25,295(+0.18%)	1,705(=)
2020-06-14		​ ​ ​	25,303(+0.03%)	1,706(+0.06%)
2020-06-15		​ ​ ​	25,321(+0.07%)	1,706(=)
2020-06-16		​ ​ ​	25,334(+0.05%)	1,709(+0.18%)
2020-06-17		​ ​ ​	25,341(+0.03%)	1,710(+0.06%)
2020-06-18		​ ​ ​	25,355(+0.06%)	1,714(+0.23%)
2020-06-19		​ ​ ​	25,368(+0.05%)	1,714(=)
2020-06-20		​ ​ ​	25,374(+0.02%)	1,715(+0.06%)
2020-06-21		​ ​ ​	25,379(+0.02%)	1,715(=)
2020-06-22		​ ​ ​	25,383(+0.02%)	1,717(+0.12%)
2020-06-23		​ ​ ​	25,391(+0.03%)	1,720(+0.17%)
2020-06-24		​ ​ ​	25,396(+0.02%)	1,726(+0.35%)
2020-06-25		​ ​ ​	25,405(+0.04%)	1,727(+0.06%)
2020-06-26		​ ​ ​	25,414(+0.04%)	1,730(+0.17%)
2020-06-27		​ ​ ​	25,437(+0.09%)	1,734(+0.23%)
2020-06-28		​ ​ ​	25,439(+0.01%)	1,735(+0.06%)
2020-06-29		​ ​ ​	25,462(+0.09%)	1,735(=)
2020-06-30		​ ​ ​	25,473(+0.04%)	1,736(+0.06%)
2020-07-01		​ ​ ​	25,477(+0.02%)	1,738(+0.12%)
2020-07-02		​ ​ ​	25,489(+0.05%)	1,738(=)
2020-07-03		​ ​ ​	25,498(+0.04%)	1,740(+0.12%)
2020-07-04		​ ​ ​	25,509(+0.04%)	1,741(+0.06%)
2020-07-05		​ ​ ​	25,527(+0.07%)	1,741(=)
2020-07-06		​ ​ ​	25,531(+0.02%)	1,741(=)
2020-07-07		​ ​ ​	25,538(+0.03%)	1,742(+0.06%)
2020-07-08		​ ​ ​	25,542(+0.02%)	1,738(−0.23%)
2020-07-09		​ ​ ​	25,565(+0.09%)	1,743(+0.29%)
2020-07-10		​ ​ ​	25,589(+0.09%)	1,744(+0.06%)
2020-07-11		​ ​ ​	25,611(+0.09%)	1,746(+0.11%)
2020-07-12		​ ​ ​	25,628(+0.07%)	1,746(=)
2020-07-13		​ ​ ​	25,638(+0.04%)	1,746(=)
2020-07-14		​ ​ ​	25,670(+0.12%)	1,746(=)
2020-07-15		​ ​ ​	25,683(+0.05%)	1,748(+0.11%)
2020-07-16		​ ​ ​	25,698(+0.06%)	1,749(+0.06%)
2020-07-17		​ ​ ​	25,730(+0.12%)	1,752(+0.17%)
2020-07-18		​ ​ ​	25,750(+0.08%)	1,753(+0.06%)
2020-07-19		​ ​ ​	25,760(+0.04%)	1,753(=)
2020-07-20		​ ​ ​	25,766(+0.02%)	1,753(=)
2020-07-21		​ ​ ​	25,802(+0.14%)	1,753(=)
2020-07-22		​ ​ ​	25,819(+0.07%)	1,754(+0.06%)
2020-07-23		​ ​ ​	25,826(+0.03%)	1,763(+0.51%)
2020-07-24		​ ​ ​	25,845(+0.07%)	1,763(=)
2020-07-25		​ ​ ​	25,869(+0.09%)	1,764(+0.06%)
2020-07-26		​ ​ ​	25,881(+0.05%)	1,764(=)
2020-07-27		​ ​ ​	25,892(+0.04%)	1,764(=)
2020-07-28		​ ​ ​	25,929(+0.14%)	1,764(=)
2020-07-29		​ ​ ​	25,942(+0.05%)	1,764(=)
2020-07-30		​ ​ ​	26,027(+0.33%)	1,763(-0.06%)
2020-07-31		​ ​ ​	26,065(+0.15%)	1,763(=)
2020-08-01		​ ​	26,109(+0.17%)	1,763(=)
2020-08-02		​ ​	26,162(+0.2%)	1,763(=)
2020-08-03		​ ​	26,208(+0.18%)	1,763(=)
2020-08-04		​ ​	26,253(+0.17%)	1,763(=)
2020-08-05		​ ​	26,303(+0.19%)	1,763(=)
2020-08-06		​ ​	26,372(+0.26%)	1,768(+0.28%)
2020-08-07		​ ​	26,470(+0.37%)	1,772(+0.23%)
2020-08-08		​ ​	26,644(+0.66%)	1,772(=)
2020-08-09		​ ​	26,712(+0.26%)	1,772(=)
2020-08-10		​ ​	26,768(+0.21%)	1,772(=)
2020-08-11		​ ​	26,801(+0.12%)	1,773(+0.06%)
2020-08-12		​ ​	26,838(+0.14%)	1,774(+0.06%)
2020-08-13		​ ​	26,929(+0.34%)	1,774(=)
2020-08-14		​ ​	26,995(+0.25%)	1,774(=)
2020-08-15		​ ​	27,191(+0.73%)	1,774(=)
2020-08-16		​ ​	27,257(+0.24%)	1,774(=)
2020-08-17		​ ​	27,313(+0.21%)	1,774(=)
2020-08-18		​ ​	27,499(+0.68%)	1,775(+0.06%)
2020-08-19		​ ​	27,547(+0.17%)	1,775(=)
2020-08-20		​ ​	27,676(+0.47%)	1,776(+0.06%)
2020-08-21		​ ​	27,755(+0.29%)	1,776(=)
2020-08-22		​ ​	27,908(+0.55%)	1,777(+0.06%)
2020-08-23		​ ​	27,969(+0.22%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-24		​ ​	28,116(+0.53%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-25		​ ​	28,201(+0.3%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-26		​ ​	28,363(+0.57%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-27		​ ​	28,453(+0.32%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-28		​ ​	28,578(+0.44%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-29		​ ​	28,720(+0.5%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-30		​ ​	28,760(+0.14%)	1,777(=)
2020-08-31		​ ​	28,811(+0.18%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-01		​ ​	29,025(+0.74%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-02		​ ​	29,114(+0.31%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-03		​ ​	29,206(+0.32%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-04		​ ​	29,303(+0.33%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-05		​ ​	29,534(+0.79%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-06		​ ​	29,672(+0.47%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-07		​ ​	29,774(+0.34%)	1,777(=)
2020-09-08		​ ​	30,080(+1%)	1,778(+0.06%)
2020-09-09		​ ​	30,164(+0.28%)	1,781(+0.17%)
2020-09-10		​ ​	30,360(+0.65%)	1,781(=)
2020-09-11		​ ​	30,571(+0.69%)	1,781(=)
2020-09-12		​ ​	30,730(+0.52%)	1,783(+0.11%)
2020-09-13		​ ​	30,985(+0.83%)	1,784(+0.06%)
2020-09-14		​ ​	31,192(+0.67%)	1,784(=)
2020-09-15		​ ​	31,549(+1.1%)	1,787(+0.17%)
2020-09-16		​ ​	31,799(+0.79%)	1,788(+0.06%)
2020-09-17		​ ​	32,023(+0.7%)	1,789(+0.06%)
2020-09-18		​ ​	32,271(+0.77%)	1,792(+0.17%)
2020-09-19		​ ​	32,538(+0.83%)	1,792(=)
2020-09-20		​ ​	32,933(+1.2%)	1,792(=)
2020-09-21		​ ​	33,121(+0.57%)	1,792(=)
2020-09-22		​ ​	33,444(+0.98%)	1,792(=)
2020-09-23		​ ​	33,675(+0.69%)	1,794(+0.11%)
2020-09-24		​ ​	33,994(+0.95%)	1,797(+0.17%)
2020-09-25		​ ​	34,315(+0.94%)	1,797(=)
2020-09-26		​ ​	34,560(+0.71%)	1,802(+0.28%)
2020-09-27		​ ​	34,990(+1.2%)	1,802(=)
2020-09-28		​ ​	35,377(+1.1%)	1,802(=)
2020-09-29		​ ​	35,740(+1%)	1,803(+0.06%)
2020-09-30		​ ​	36,155(+1.2%)	1,804(+0.06%)
2020-10-01		​ ​	36,597(+1.2%)	1,806(+0.11%)
2020-10-02		​ ​	37,063(+1.3%)	1,801(−0.28%)
2020-10-03		​ ​	37,668(+1.6%)	1,810(+0.5%)
2020-10-04		​ ​	38,032(+0.97%)	1,810(=)
2020-10-05		​ ​	38,549(+1.4%)	1,810(=)
2020-10-06		​ ​	38,973(+1.1%)	1,811(+0.06%)
2020-10-07		​ ​	39,584(+1.6%)	1,816(+0.28%)
2020-10-08		​ ​	40,086(+1.3%)	1,817(+0.06%)
2020-10-09		​ ​	40,703(+1.5%)	1,821(+0.22%)
2020-10-10		​ ​	41,714(+2.5%)	1,824(+0.16%)
2020-10-11		​ ​	42,528(+2%)	1,826(+0.11%)
2020-10-12		​ ​	43,351(+1.9%)	1,827(+0.05%)
2020-10-13		​ ​	44,159(+1.9%)	1,830(+0.16%)
2020-10-14		​ ​	45,243(+2.5%)	1,835(+0.27%)
2020-10-15		​ ​	46,429(+2.6%)	1,838(+0.16%)
2020-10-16		​ ​	47,427(+2.1%)	1,841(+0.16%)
2020-10-17		​ ​	48,678(+2.6%)	1,849(+0.43%)
2020-10-18		​ ​	49,962(+2.6%)	1,852(+0.16%)
2020-10-19		​ ​	50,993(+2.1%)	1,852(=)
2020-10-20		​ ​	52,256(+2.5%)	1,865(+0.7%)
2020-10-21		​ ​	53,422(+2.2%)	1,868(+0.16%)
2020-10-22		​ ​	54,476(+2%)	1,871(+0.16%)
2020-10-23		​ ​	55,261(+1.4%)	1,878(+0.37%)
2020-10-24		​ ​	56,108(+1.5%)	1,882(+0.21%)
2020-10-25		​ ​	57,128(+1.8%)	1,882(=)
2020-10-26		​ ​	58,067(+1.6%)	1,885(+0.16%)
2020-10-27		​ ​	58,767(+1.2%)	1,890(+0.27%)
2020-10-28		​ ​	59,434(+1.1%)	1,896(+0.32%)
2020-10-29		​ ​	60,297(+1.5%)	1,902(+0.32%)
2020-10-30		​ ​	61,059(+1.3%)	1,908(+0.32%)
2020-10-31		​ ​	61,456(+0.65%)	1,913(+0.26%)
2020-11-01		​ ​	62,002(+0.89%)	1,915(+0.1%)
2020-11-02		​ ​	62,750(+1.2%)	1,917(+0.1%)
2020-11-03		​ ​	63,048(+0.47%)	1,922(+0.26%)
2020-11-04		​ ​	63,483(+0.69%)	1,930(+0.42%)
2020-11-05		​ ​	64,046(+0.89%)	1,933(+0.16%)
2020-11-06		​ ​	64,538(+0.77%)	1,940(+0.36%)
2020-11-07		​ ​	64,855(+0.49%)	1,945(+0.26%)
2020-11-08		​ ​	65,394(+0.83%)	1,947(+0.1%)
2020-11-09		​ ​	65,659(+0.41%)	1,948(+0.05%)
2020-11-10		​ ​	65,889(+0.35%)	1,963(+0.77%)
2020-11-11		​ ​	66,247(+0.54%)	1,965(+0.1%)
2020-11-12		​ ​	66,632(+0.58%)	1,965(=)
2020-11-13		​ ​	67,099(+0.7%)	1,972(+0.36%)
2020-11-14		​ ​	67,526(+0.64%)	1,978(+0.3%)
2020-11-15		​ ​	67,903(+0.56%)	1,979(+0.05%)
2020-11-16		​ ​	68,356(+0.67%)	1,984(+0.25%)
2020-11-17		​ ​	68,686(+0.48%)	1,995(+0.55%)
2020-11-18		​ ​	69,058(+0.54%)	2,006(+0.55%)
2020-11-19		​ ​	69,487(+0.62%)	2,010(+0.2%)
2020-11-20		​ ​	69,802(+0.45%)	2,018(+0.4%)
2020-11-21		​ ​	70,143(+0.49%)	2,022(+0.2%)
2020-11-22		​ ​	70,461(+0.45%)	2,023(+0.05%)
2020-11-23		​ ​	70,711(+0.35%)	2,022(−0.05%)
2020-11-24		​ ​	70,930(+0.31%)	2,028(+0.3%)
2020-11-25		​ ​	71,187(+0.36%)	2,033(+0.25%)
2020-11-26		​ ​	71,494(+0.43%)	2,036(+0.15%)
2020-11-27		​ ​	71,699(+0.29%)	2,043(+0.34%)
2020-11-28		​ ​	71,942(+0.34%)	2,050(+0.34%)
2020-11-29		​ ​	72,241(+0.42%)	2,052(+0.1%)
2020-11-30		​ ​	72,544(+0.42%)	2,053(+0.05%)
2020-12-01		​ ​	72,798(+0.35%)	2,069(+0.78%)
2020-12-02		​ ​	73,066(+0.37%)	2,074(+0.24%)
2020-12-03		​ ​	73,228(+0.22%)	2,080(+0.29%)
2020-12-04		​ ​	73,491(+0.36%)	2,086(+0.29%)
2020-12-05		​ ​	73,948(+0.62%)	2,099(+0.62%)
2020-12-06		​ ​	74,246(+0.4%)	2,099(=)
2020-12-07		​ ​	74,468(+0.3%)	2,099(=)
2020-12-08		​ ​	74,682(+0.29%)	2,097(−0.1%)
2020-12-09		​ ​	74,900(+0.29%)	2,102(+0.24%)
2020-12-10		​ ​	75,203(+0.4%)	2,117(+0.71%)
2020-12-11		​ ​	75,507(+0.4%)	2,120(+0.14%)
2020-12-12		​ ​	75,756(+0.33%)	2,123(+0.14%)
2020-12-13		​ ​	76,185(+0.57%)	2,124(+0.05%)
2020-12-14		​ ​	76,449(+0.35%)	2,126(+0.09%)
2020-12-15		​ ​	76,776(+0.43%)	2,134(+0.38%)
2020-12-16		​ ​	77,197(+0.55%)	2,140(+0.28%)
2020-12-17		​ ​	77,678(+0.62%)	2,143(+0.14%)
2020-12-18		​ ​	78,254(+0.74%)	2,149(+0.28%)
2020-12-19		​ ​	78,776(+0.67%)	2,154(+0.23%)
2020-12-20		​ ​	79,542(+0.97%)	2,158(+0.19%)
2020-12-21		​ ​	80,267(+0.91%)	2,158(=)
2020-12-22		​ ​	81,228(+1.2%)	2,171(+0.6%)
2020-12-23		​ ​	82,155(+1.1%)	2,184(+0.6%)
2020-12-24		​ ​	83,073(+1.1%)	2,192(+0.37%)
2020-12-25		​ ​	84,098(+1.2%)	2,194(+0.09%)
2020-12-26		​ ​	85,394(+1.5%)	2,200(+0.27%)
2020-12-27		​ ​	86,129(+0.86%)	2,204(+0.18%)
2020-12-28		​ ​	86,894(+0.89%)	2,205(+0.05%)
2020-12-29		​ ​	88,439(+1.8%)	2,213(+0.36%)
2020-12-30		​ ​	90,157(+1.9%)	2,226(+0.59%)
2020-12-31		​ ​	91,779(+1.8%)	2,237(+0.49%)
2021-01-01		​ ​	93,532(+1.9%)	2,248(+0.49%)
2021-01-02		​ ​	96,926(+3.6%)	2,252(+0.18%)
2021-01-03		​ ​	101,887(+5.1%)	2,259(+0.31%)
2021-01-04		​ ​	107,997(+6%)	2,265(+0.27%)
2021-01-05		​ ​	113,322(+4.9%)	2,282(+0.75%)
2021-01-06		​ ​	121,154(+6.9%)	2,299(+0.75%)
2021-01-07		​ ​	127,657(+5.4%)	2,307(+0.35%)
2021-01-08		​ ​	135,884(+6.4%)	2,327(+0.87%)
2021-01-09		​ ​	140,727(+3.6%)	2,336(+0.39%)
2021-01-10		​ ​	147,613(+4.9%)	2,344(+0.34%)
2021-01-11		​ ​	152,539(+3.3%)	2,352(+0.34%)
2021-01-12		​ ​	155,591(+2%)	2,397(+1.9%)
2021-01-13		​ ​	159,144(+2.3%)	2,460(+2.6%)
2021-01-14		​ ​	163,057(+2.5%)	2,488(+1.1%)
2021-01-15		​ ​	166,548(+2.1%)	2,536(+1.9%)
2021-01-16		​ ​	169,780(+1.9%)	2,595(+2.3%)
2021-01-17		​ ​	172,726(+1.7%)	2,608(+0.5%)
Sources: various news sources and state health department websites. See Timeline articles and Cases table for sources. Notes:

February–May 2020

The NPHET, a group within the Department of Health, began monitoring the spread of the virus before it was confirmed to have reached Ireland. According to The Irish Times, the NPHET for COVID-19 was created on 27 January 2020. NPHET continued to meet after the virus had arrived in Ireland to co-ordinate the national response to the pandemic. The Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group—a subgroup of NPHET chaired by Dr Cillian de Gascun, the UCD-based Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory – met for the first time on 5 February in Dublin.

In late February, the Department of Health stated that Ireland was in the Containment Phase of its strategy against the virus, though media briefings with such figures with Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan were already underway.

On 20 February, COVID-19 was added to the list of notifiable diseases legislated in Ireland. As a notifiable disease, COVID-19 was included among the list of diseases designated as "infectious diseases". Medical practitioners or laboratory directors, on becoming aware of a notifiable disease, should notify it to a Medical Officer of Health (Director of Public Health or designate) who subsequently notify HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

On 27 February, the first case on the island of Ireland was announced—a woman from Belfast who had travelled from Northern Italy through Dublin Airport. Two days later, on 29 February, the first confirmed case in the Republic of Ireland was announced involving a male student from the east of the country, who had arrived there from Northern Italy. Authorities shut a secondary school linked to the case as a precautionary measure. The State did not name the school involved, but—shortly afterwards—the Irish Examiner's Political Editor, Daniel McConnell, tweeted a copy of the letter it had sent to parents informing them it would close.

On 11 March, an elderly patient in Naas General Hospital in County Kildare (south-west of the country's capital city, Dublin) became Ireland's first fatality from the virus.

Bags of books put out for collection at a primary school in March 2020.

On 12 March, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the closure of all schools, colleges and childcare facilities until 29 March. The announcement, which came one day after the World Health Organization formally declared that the outbreak was a pandemic, also marked Ireland's movement from the Containment Phase in its strategy to combat the spread of the virus (a strategy which the Department of the Taoiseach had reaffirmed just three days earlier) towards the Delay Phase.

On 15 March, the Government of Ireland ordered bars and public houses to close and advised against house parties.

On 18 March, detailed information about hospital statistics, age range affected, how COVID-19 was spreading, healthcare workers and cases by county was published by the National Public Health Emergency Team starting on this day. It showed that the virus was present in 23 of the 26 counties, with Laois, Leitrim and Monaghan the only three yet to record a case.

On 26 March, 255 cases and 10 deaths were confirmed, bringing the totals to 1,819 cases and 19 deaths, more than double the previous day's total. According to Chief Medical Officer Holohan, most of the deaths occurred in "institutional settings", i.e. hospitals and nursing homes. At this point, deaths began to accelerate rapidly.

A garda checkpoint during the "stay at home" phase of the pandemic.

Porterstown Park in lockdown but people still visible in the park.

On 27 March, 302 new cases as well as 3 new deaths brought the total number of confirmed cases and deaths to 2,121 and 22, respectively. Among the deaths was the country's first healthcare worker fatality, who was based in the east of the country. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced a national stay-at-home order with a series of measures which he summed up as: "Stay at Home". Merrion Street described it as "a more intensive phase in our response to COVID-19". The measures, which coincided with an escalating death toll, were also a response to increased reliance on intensive care units (ICUs) to treat critically ill patients, and an attempt to lower this number before capacity was reached.

On 1 April, it was announced that Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan, who displayed signs of illness during the previous evening's news conference, had entered hospital for non-COVID reasons; Ronan Glynn (Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Head of the Department of Health's Health Protection Unit) took charge.

On 10 April, it was reported that there was a discrepancy between the number of cases confirmed by Ireland's Department of Health and the ECDC, due to swab tests sent to Germany for analysis to clear the backlog and testing in Ireland. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that measures introduced on 27 March would be extended until at least 5 May.

On 14 April, Minister for Health Simon Harris said between 25,000 and 30,000 tests had been sent to Germany and "well over" half of the results had been returned, with the remainder due back by next week. The National Public Health Emergency Team said there would be a "real danger" of a second wave of virus cases, if the changing of restrictions was not done correctly.

On 15 April, a further 657 cases, together with an additional 411 cases from the backlog of tests at the laboratory in Germany, and 38 deaths were reported, bringing the totals to 12,547 cases and 444 deaths. Among the deaths announced, a 23-year-old said to be the youngest person to have died in the country at the time. Also on this date, a spokesperson for the Ireland East Hospital Group confirmed the deaths of two healthcare workers, a man and a woman, at the same hospital in Kilkenny, the man having died at home the previous day and the woman having died in the hospital that day.

On 16 April, the National Public Health Emergency Team reported that lockdown and other measures had driven the growth rate of the pandemic "as low as it needs to be" and was "close to zero".

On 21 April, Chief Medical Officer Holohan announced that 8,377 people had recovered in the community and that 856 people were discharged from hospital. He also announced that the curve had flattened and that no peak would be coming.

On 29 April, a further 376 cases and 31 deaths were reported, bringing the end of April totals to 20,253 cases and 1,190 deaths. Holohan said, "We estimate that as of Saturday 25th April 12,222 COVID-19 cases (64%) in the community have recovered. 1,164 cases (6%) have been discharged from hospital which gives us a total recovery rate of 70%."

May–August 2020

A barber shop in Maynooth on Monday, 29 June 2020, the first day of the third phase of the lifting of public health restrictions.

On 1 May, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the extension of the current restrictions to 18 May at the earliest. A roadmap to easing restrictions in Ireland that includes five stages was adopted by the government and subsequently published online.

On 15 May, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan announced seven children in Ireland had been identified with links to paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a new illness temporarily associated with COVID-19. The Government of Ireland confirmed that phase one of easing the COVID-19 restrictions would begin on Monday 18 May. Among the heritage sites reopening under phase one were Cong Abbey, Farmleigh, Kilkenny Castle, Knocknarea, the National Botanic Gardens and Trim Castle.

From 16 to 17 May, 156 cases and 25 deaths were reported, bringing the totals to 24,112 cases and 1,543 deaths. At this point, cases and deaths began to decelerate.

On 18 May, the government's roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions began.

On 31 May, a further 66 cases and 2 deaths were reported, bringing the end of May totals to 24,990 cases and 1,652 deaths.

On 5 June, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced a series of changes to the government's roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland, which he summed up as: "Stay Local". The Government of Ireland confirmed that "phase two plus" of easing the COVID-19 restrictions would begin on Monday 8 June.

On 19 June, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced a further re-configuration of the government's roadmap with hairdressers, barbers, gyms, cinemas and churches reopening from 29 June.

On 29 June, phase three of the government's roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions began. Remaining businesses reopened including all pubs serving food, cafés, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, beauty salons and tourist attractions.

On 30 June, a further 11 cases and 1 death were reported, bringing the end of June totals to 25,473 cases and 1,736 deaths.

COVID Tracker contact tracing app released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) on 7 July 2020.

On 7 July, the Health Service Executive released the COVID Tracker contact tracing app that uses ENS and Bluetooth technology to record if a user is in close contact with another user, by exchanging anonymous codes, with over one million downloads within two days after its launch.

Phase four of easing COVID-19 restrictions was initially scheduled to take place on 20 July, but was repeatedly postponed until 31 August at the earliest.

On 31 July, a further 38 cases and no deaths were reported, bringing the end of July totals to 26,065 cases and 1,763 deaths.

On 12 August, it was announced that the Government of Ireland intended to move away from the phases of re-opening the country, and switch to a colour-coded system planned by the National Public Health Emergency Team to indicate how counties, regions and the country as a whole are currently affected by COVID-19.

August–December 2020

On 7 August, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced a series of measures for counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly following significant increases of COVID-19 cases in the three counties, which came into effect from midnight and would remain in place for two weeks.

On 18 August, following a Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings, the Government of Ireland announced six new measures because of the growing number of confirmed cases, which remained in place until 15 September.

On 21 August, the Government of Ireland announced that COVID-19 restrictions in counties Laois and Offaly were lifted but were extended for another two weeks in Kildare.

On 31 August, the Government of Ireland announced the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in County Kildare with immediate effect. A further 53 cases and no deaths were reported, bringing the totals at the end of August to 28,811 cases and 1,777 deaths.

On 15 September, Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl announced that the entire government would have to restrict their movements after Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly felt unwell and contacted his GP for a COVID-19 test. Just after 9pm, it was announced that Donnelly tested negative for COVID-19 and that the government no longer needed to restrict their movements.

Also on 15 September, the Government of Ireland announced a medium-term plan for living with COVID-19 that includes five levels of restrictions, with the entire country at Level 2 and specific restrictions in Dublin including the postponement of the reopening of pubs not serving food.

Resilience and recovery 2020-2021: Plan for living with COVID-19 – Restrictions

Level	Social and family gatherings	Weddings	Indoor and outdoor events	Sports training, matches and events	Gyms, pools and leisure centres	Religious services	Restaurants, cafés and pubs	Hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs	Retail and services	Indoor cultural venues	Domestic travel	Public transport	Schools and childcare
1	Maximum 10 from 3 other households	Maximum 100 people can attend	Indoor: 100/200 depending on venue size; Outdoor: 200/500 depending on venue size	Normal training with protective measures; Matches and events: 100 indoors/200 outdoor/500 stadia	Open with protective measures	50 people can attend	Open with protective measures	Open with protective measures	Open with protective measures	Open with protective measures	No restrictions	Off-peak hours	Open with protective measures
2	Maximum 6 from 3 other households	Maximum 50 people can attend	Indoor: 50/100 depending on venue size; Outdoor: 100/200 depending on venue size	Indoor training: pods of 6; Outdoor training: pods of 15; Matches and events: 50 indoors/100 outdoors/200 stadia	Open with protective measures	50 people can attend	Groups of 6 from up to 3 households	Open with protective measures	Open with protective measures	Open with protective measures	No restrictions	50% capacity / peak-hours prioritised	Open with protective measures
3	Maximum 6 from 1 other household	Maximum 25 people can attend	No organised indoor events; Outdoor: gatherings of up to 15	Indoor training: 1 individual only; Outdoor training: pods of 15 (non-contact); Matches and events: except specific exemptions	Individual training only	Services move online; 25 people can attend funerals	Range of restrictions up to and including no indoor dining	Services limited to residents only	Open with protective measures	Venues closed	Stay in your county	50% capacity, use only when necessary	Open with protective measures
4	No visitors	Maximum 6 people can attend	No organised indoor events; Outdoor: gatherings of up to 15	Indoor training: 1 individual only; Outdoor training: pods of 15 (non-contact); Matches and events: except specific exemptions	Closed	Services move online; 25 people can attend funerals	Outdoor dining (maximum 15 people), takeaway or delivery	Existing guests & essential purposes only	Primarily outdoor essential retail/services	Venues closed	Stay in your county	25% capacity, avoid public transport	Open with protective measures
5	No visitors	Maximum 6 people can attend	No organised indoor/outdoor events	Individual traning only & no events	Closed	Services move online; 10 people can attend funerals	Takeaway or delivery only	Essential purposes only	Essential retail only	Venues closed	Stay at home, exercise within 5 km	25% capacity, avoid public transport	Recommendations based on situation & evidence at time

On 18 September, following an announcement at Government Buildings, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that Dublin would move to Level 3 restrictions from midnight and would remain in place for three weeks until 9 October.

On 24 September, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that Donegal would move to Level 3 restrictions from the midnight of 25 September and would remain in place for three weeks until 16 October, with pubs remaining open for takeaway, delivery and outdoor dining to a maximum of 15 people only.

On 30 September, a further 429 cases and 1 death were reported, bringing the totals at the end of September to 36,155 cases and 1,804 deaths.

On 4 October, in a letter sent to the Government of Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team recommended the highest level of restrictions for the entire country – Level 5 for four weeks, following a NPHET meeting chaired by Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan. On 5 October, the Government rejected NPHET's recommendation to place the entire country under Level 5 restrictions, and instead moved every county in Ireland to Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions with improved enforcement and indoor dining in pubs and restaurants banned, which will come into effect from the midnight of 6 October until 27 October at the earliest.

On 14 October, the Government of Ireland agreed a nationwide ban on all household visits from the night of Thursday 15 October, except for essential reasons such as childcare and on compassionate grounds. Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that counties Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan would move to Level 4 restrictions from the midnight of 15 October.

After 1,205 cases—the highest number of confirmed cases recorded in a single day since 10 April—was confirmed by the Department of Health on 15 October, on 16 October, the National Public Health Emergency Team recommended to the Government of Ireland to move the entire country to Level 5 restrictions for six weeks.

70 minute queue from the Papal Cross to the Castleknock Gate of the Phoenix Park due to large visitor numbers.

On 19 October, the Government of Ireland agreed to move the entire country to Level 5 lockdown restrictions from midnight on Wednesday 21 October for six weeks until 1 December.

On 31 October, a further 416 cases and 5 deaths were reported, bringing the totals at the end of October to 61,456 cases and 1,913 deaths.

December 2020–present

On 27 November, the Government of Ireland agreed the approach for easing restrictions, including a phased move to Level 3 restrictions nationally from midnight on Tuesday 1 December, with a number of exceptions in place for the Christmas period from 18 December.

• From 1 December:
  • Non-essential retail, hairdressers, gyms, leisure centres, museums, galleries, libraries, cinemas and places of worship will reopen.
  • Households should not mix with any other households outside those within their bubble.
  • People should stay within their county apart from work, education and other essential purposes.
  • Face coverings will be recommended to be worn in crowded workplaces, places of worship and in busy or crowded outdoor spaces where there is significant congregation.
• From 4 December:
  • Restaurants, cafés, gastropubs and hotel restaurants may reopen for indoor dining with additional restrictions.
  • Pubs not serving food will remain closed except for takeaway and delivery.
• From 18 December to 6 January 2021:
  • Households can mix with up to two other households.
  • Travel outside of your county to be permitted.

On 30 November, a further 306 cases and 1 death were reported, bringing the totals at the end of November to 72,544 cases and 2,053 deaths.

On 1 December, all non-essential retail shops, hair and beauty providers, gyms and leisure centres, cinemas, museums and galleries reopened after six weeks of closure. Meanwhile, the Government of Ireland approved an advance purchase agreement for 875,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna.

On 4 December, thousands of restaurants, cafés, gastropubs and hotel restaurants reopened after six weeks of closure.

On 17 December, the National Public Health Emergency Team recommended to the Government of Ireland that the period of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions from 18 December be shortened to the end of the year as COVID-19 cases rise.

On 21 December, speaking at a COVID-19 press briefing, the Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group Philip Nolan announced that a third wave of COVID-19 in Ireland is clearly underway.

On 22 December, the Government of Ireland agreed to move the entire country to Level 5 lockdown restrictions with a number of adjustments from Christmas Eve until 12 January 2021 at the earliest.

• Under Level 5 restrictions:
  • Restaurants and gastro-pubs must close at 3pm on 24 December (Christmas Eve).
  • Hotels may provide food and bar services to guests only after 3pm on Christmas Eve. Hotels may only open to guests for essential purposes after 26 December.
  • Up until 26 December (St Stephen's Day), visits from up to two other households will be permitted. Household visits will be reduced to one other household from 27 December.
  • From 1 January, no household mixing will be allowed except for compassionate, care or childcare reasons.
  • Non-essential retail will remain open but shops will be requested to defer January sales events.
  • No new inter-county travel will be allowed after 26 December.
  • Personal services, including hairdressers and barbers must close.
  • Gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools will remain open for individual training only.
  • Schools will return as normal in January after the Christmas break.
  • Travel restrictions from the United Kingdom will remain in place until 31 December.

On 23 December, in a statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team, the Chair of the NPHET Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group Cillian de Gascun announced that the new variant of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom is now present in the Republic of Ireland, based on a selection of samples analysed from the weekend. Two days later on 25 December (Christmas Day), Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan officially confirmed that the new UK variant of COVID-19 had been detected in the Republic of Ireland by whole genome sequencing at the National Virus Reference Laboratory in University College Dublin.

On 30 December, the Government of Ireland agreed to move the entire country to full Level 5 lockdown restrictions from midnight until 31 January 2021 at the earliest.

• Under additional Level 5 restrictions:
  • All schools to remain closed after the Christmas break until 11 January 2021. Childcare facilities and crèches to remain open.
  • All non-essential retail and services must close from 6pm on 31 December.
  • People must stay at home except for work, education or other essential purposes, and will be allowed to exercise within 5km of home.
  • Travel restrictions from the United Kingdom to remain in place until 6 January 2021.

On 31 December, a further 1,620 cases and 12 deaths were reported, bringing the end of 2020 totals to 91,779 cases and 2,237 deaths.

On 2 January 2021, it was revealed that there were approximately 9,000 positive COVID-19 tests not yet logged on the HSE's IT systems, due to both limitations in the software; and lack of staff to check and input details, meaning there is an effective ceiling of approximately 1,700 to 2,000 cases that can be logged each day.

On 6 January, the Government of Ireland agreed a number of new lockdown measures including the closure of all schools until February with Leaving Certificate students allowed to attend school for three days a week, the closure of all non-essential construction sites with certain exceptions at 6pm on 8 January, the requirement from 9 January for all passengers from the UK and South Africa to have a negative PCR test that they acquired within 72 hours of travelling and the prohibition of click-and-collect services for non-essential retail. One day after the announcement, the Government was forced to abandon plans for Leaving Certificate students to attend school on three days a week, and instead students will return to homeschooling along with other students until February, after the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) directed its members not to return to in-school teaching.

On 7 January, the National Public Health Emergency Team confirmed that the backlog of cases due to a delay in reporting positive laboratory results have been cleared.

On 8 January, in a statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan confirmed that three cases of the South African variant of COVID-19 had been detected in the Republic of Ireland by whole genome sequencing associated with travel from South Africa.

Vaccines

The Government of Ireland approved an advance purchase agreement for 875,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna on 1 December 2020.

On 15 December, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced the Government's National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy, which outlines the country's high-level plan for safe, effective and efficient vaccination of the Republic of Ireland, while safeguarding continued provision of health and social care services. Three days later on 18 December, the Director-General of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Paul Reid announced that he expects to have hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses by the end of February 2021.

On St Stephen's Day, the first shipment of 10,000 Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the Republic of Ireland.

Annie Lynch, a 79-year-old woman, became the first person in the Republic of Ireland to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at St. James's Hospital, Dublin on 29 December 2020.

Maura Byrne, a 95-year-old woman, became the first nursing home resident in the Republic of Ireland to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on 5 January 2021, while Dr Eavan Muldoon, an infectious diseases consultant, became the first healthcare worker in the Mater University Hospital to receive the vaccine. On the same day, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that up to 135,000 people would be vaccinated nationwide by the end of February 2021.

Following the approval of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine by the European Medicines Agency on 6 January 2021, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced that the vaccine would allow 10,000 more people in Ireland to be vaccinated per week.

The rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in private and voluntary nursing homes began nationwide on 7 January, with 22 nursing homes of 3,000 residents and staff to be vaccinated.

The first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the Republic of Ireland on 12 January.

Around 1,800 healthcare workers received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at three mass vaccination centres that opened in Dublin, Galway and Portlaoise on 16 January.

On 17 January, the Government requested early deliveries of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as discussions to secure early delivery of the vaccine got underway.

Vaccinations figures from December 2020 to January 2021
Date	Vaccinations carried out	Doses per 100 people	Ref.
31 December 2020	1,800+	0.03
4 January 2021	4,000	0.08
7 January 2021	15,314	0.31
13 January 2021	77,303	1.58

Testing

See also: COVID-19 testing

The developing and delivering of testing of Ireland was led by the staff in the National Virus Reference Laboratory. With the acquisition of the sequence of the virus, they used this to develop and validate in-house assays in advance of obtaining any commercial diagnostic kits. The NVRL played a vital role in the early detection of COVID-19 cases in Ireland.

The military response to the pandemic, which included provision of naval vessels to support onshore testing in Irish cities, was known as Operation Fortitude and initially involved such ships as LÉ Samuel Beckett, LÉ George Bernard Shaw and LÉ Niamh (Dublin), LÉ Eithne (Cork), and LÉ William Butler Yeats (Galway). On 15 May, the Naval Service completed its mission and—having been involved in 6,000 tests—transferred its duties to the Army (also under Operation Fortitude); the Army had begun work at the Aviva Stadium the previous day (while ships such as the LÉ William Butler Yeats—by this time based in Dublin—returned to sea, the LÉ Eithne stayed in the city of Cork for purposes of storage and logistics, not testing).

Many Gaelic games stadiums were repurposed as drive-through COVID-19 testing centres. These included Croke Park in Dublin; Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork; Nowlan Park in Kilkenny; Gaelic Grounds in Limerick; MacHale Park in Castlebar; Breffni Park in Cavan; Tinryland GFC's facilities south of Carlow (later shut due to lack of demand); and O'Donnell Park in Letterkenny.

Among the other drive-through testing centres set up: St Vincent's in Athlone; the Lakeside Centre in Ballyshannon; Castlebar Leisure Complex in County Mayo; St Loman's Hospital in Mullingar; the Clarion Road in Sligo; Tallaght Stadium (the home ground of Shamrock Rovers Football Club) in Tallaght; a prefabricated HSE-owned building in Waterford near Cherrymount in Ballytruckle, which had been used by St Martin's Special School; the Whitemill Industrial Estate in Wexford.

Former testing sites which were later replaced by the local stadiums mentioned above include Ballyhaise Health Centre in Cavan and the disused St Conal's Hospital in Letterkenny.

Centres ranging from the counties of Cork (in the south) and Donegal (in the north) were shut at various times due to lack of testing kits.

Problems with testing kit availability and the global shortage in one of three reagents necessary to complete testing for the virus (namely that used in the second stage, extraction) became pronounced. New equipment was brought into the country from overseas. Two additional laboratories began testing for the virus in mid-April: the Enfer facility in Sallins, County Kildare, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's laboratory in Backweston. On 10 April, the HSE and the UCD-based National Virus Reference Laboratory announced a contract for enough reagent to complete 900,000 tests, though Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory Cillian de Gascun said it was not the reagent that was used in the third stage of testing and thus, already amply supplied. The materials, supplied by Genomics Medicine Ireland Limited (GMI), went to the Enfer laboratory. De Gascun also asserted at the same time as this announcement that he had "misspoken" the previous month if he had said tests would be increased by thousands "within days". Scientists based in a laboratory in Sligo began making two types of reagent for COVID-19 testing carried out in the northwest of the country.

After employees complained that the HSE were informing their employers of their results first and many people were first informed of their test outcome by their employer, the HSE said on 19 May that it would stop doing this.

As of 23 March, around 40,000 people were waiting to be tested and the average wait time was 4 to 5 days. Minister for Health Simon Harris said that priority testing of only healthcare workers might have to be implemented.

On 25 March—to prioritise testing of healthcare workers—the threshold for requesting a COVID-19 test was narrowed. From then a person requesting a COVID-19 test had to: (i) be a healthcare worker; or (ii) present with a fever AND at least one other COVID-19 symptom.

From 28 April, testing criteria for the virus was broadened again to include anyone with one of the symptoms of fever, recent onset of cough or shortness of breath.

Results of a seroprevalence study, announced in July, conducted in counties Dublin and Sligo showed that about 1.7% of the population had been infected by SARS-CoV-2 with broadly similar infection rates between males and females and across different age groups. Results announced in October indicated that 18% of healthcare staff that volunteered to participate in a study at a large Dublin hospital, Tallaght University Hospital, showed antibody evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. This revealed a much higher seroprevalence in healthcare staff than in the general population.

Weekly testing figures for March 2020 to December 2020
Date	Tests carried out	Positivity rate %	Ref.
9 March 2020	1,784	-
17 March 2020	6,636	-
21 March 2020	10,000+	-
23 March 2020	17,992	-
30 March 2020	30,213	16.3%
6 April 2020	42,484	19%
9 April 2020	53,000	17%
13 April 2020	90,646	16%
20 April 2020	111,584	19%
27 April 2020	153,054	12.9%
2 May 2020	188,837	5.8%
4 May 2020	214,761	3.7%
11 May 2020	258,808	3.3%
18 May 2020	295,626	2.5%
24 May 2020	310,000	2%
25 May 2020	325,795	2.1%
1 June 2020	348,416	1.7%
8 June 2020	367,780	1%
14 June 2020	386,572	0.8%
19 June 2020	396,584	0.6%
22 June 2020	404,989	0.5%
28 June 2020	429,698	0.46%
6 July 2020	473,974	0.24%
13 July 2020	523,277	0.32%
20 July 2020	574,487	0.27%
27 July 2020	619,875	0.32%
3 August 2020	644,227	1.31%
10 August 2020	670,771	1.68%
17 August 2020	725,574	1.30%
24 August 2020	777,635	1.40%
31 August 2020	839,814	1.23%
7 September 2020	906,432	1.57%
14 September 2020	981,286	1.80%
21 September 2020	1,067,365	2.28%
28 September 2020	1,155,064	2.86%
5 October 2020	1,245,263	3.58%
12 October 2020	1,341,474	5.49%
19 October 2020	1,453,608	7.2%
26 October 2020	1,538,215	5.9%
2 November 2020	1,656,911	4.8%
9 November 2020	1,735,319	3.9%
16 November 2020	1,811,270	3.8%
23 November 2020	1,889,089	3%
30 November 2020	1,964,711	2.7%
7 December 2020	2,040,826	2.5%
14 December 2020	2,122,513	2.6%
21 December 2020	2,213,757	4.6%
28 December 2020	2,316,611	7.2%

January 2021
Date	Tests carried out	Positivity rate %	Ref.
4 January 2021	2,472,132	20.1%
11 January 2021	2,645,957	20%

Cases

Main page: Template:COVID-19 pandemic data/Republic of Ireland medical cases

Self-confirmed and posthumously reported SARS-CoV-2 infection cases involving noted figures of Ireland

Name	Treatment	Status	Location	Origin type	Birth	Occupation	Sex
Michael Carton	Hospitalisation	Recovered	Dublin		1984	Fireman, former hurler	Male
Ciara Kelly	Self-isolation	Recovered	Greystones	Community-related	1971	Broadcaster, columnist, former medical doctor	Female
Claire Byrne	Self-isolation	Recovered	Bray		1975	Journalist, presenter	Female
Mark Prendergast	Self-isolation	Recovered	Swords	Travel through Heathrow Airport (suspected)	1989	Guitarist	Male
Siobhán Killeen	Self-isolation	Recovered	Dublin		1995	Ladies' footballer and association football player	Female
John Prine	Hospitalisation	Deceased	Nashville		1946	Country folk singer-songwriter	Male
Ryan Tubridy	Self-isolation	Recovered	Monkstown		1973	Broadcaster, writer	Male
Marian McGuinness	Self-isolation	Recovered	Cavan	Person-to-person spread	1985/6	Former ladies' footballer	Female
Tim Robinson	Hospitalisation	Deceased	London		1935	Cartographer	Male
Tom Scully	Hospitalisation	Deceased	Dublin		1930	Priest, former football manager	Male
Jonathan Glynn	Self-isolation	Recovered	New York City		1993	Hurler, coach	Male
Mary Lou McDonald	Self-isolation	Recovered	Dublin	"I have no idea how I got it, it will forever be a mystery"	1969	Politician (one of 160 members of the 33rd Dáil), President of Sinn Féin	Female
Danny Delaney	Hospitalisation	Deceased	Portlaoise	Outbreak at the Maryborough Centre	Before 1950s	Former footballer, former administrator	Male
Tom Duffy	Hospitalisation	Recovered	Dublin		1929	Former circus ringmaster	Male
Tom Mulholland	Hospitalisation	Deceased	Drogheda	Outbreak at Dealgan House Nursing Home	1936	Former footballer	Male
Dave Bacuzzi	Hospitalisation	Deceased	Dublin		1940	Former association football player and manager	Male
Laura Bernal	None	Deceased	Rathmines		Mid-1950s	Diplomat (ambassador to Ireland of Argentina)	Female
Noel Walsh	Hospitalisation	Deceased	Ennis		1935	Former footballer, former administrator	Male
Declan Lynch	Self-isolation	Recovered	Antrim		1992	Footballer	Male
Conor Morrison	Self-isolation	Recovered	Santry		Mid-1990s	Footballer	Male
Jack Byrne	Self-isolation	Recovered	Dublin		1996	Association football player	Male
Callum Robinson	None	Recovered	Dublin		1995	Association football player	Male
Alan Browne	Self-isolation	Recovered	London		1995	Association football player	Male
Billy Morgan	Required health system treatment	Recovered	Cork		1945	Football manager and former player	Male
Matt Doherty	Unclear	N/A	Cardiff		1992	Association football player	Male
James McClean	Unclear	Recovered	Cardiff		1989	Association football player	Male
Charlie McConalogue	Self-isolation	N/A	Dublin		1977	Politician (one of 160 members of the 33rd Dáil), Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Male
Helen McEntee	Self-isolation	N/A	Ireland		1986	Politician (one of 160 members of the 33rd Dáil), Minister for Justice	Female

Notes

Impacts

Economic

The pandemic's emergence deeply impacted the Irish economy, causing it to plunge into a recession. While there were job losses in all sectors, individuals working in tourism, hospitality, food and retail were most likely to be affected.

A COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and a Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme were set up.

Social

The social impact of the pandemic had far-reaching consequences in the country that went beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, religious, educational, artistic and sporting.

The 2020 Leaving Certificate, Junior Certificate and all 2020 Irish language summer courses in the Gaeltacht were cancelled. The 2020 Dublin Horse Show was cancelled, the first time since 1940 that the event did not occur. The Tidy Towns competition was cancelled for the first time in its 62-year history. The Rose of Tralee was cancelled for the first time in its 61-year history. The 2020 National Ploughing Championships and Ballinasloe Horse Fair also went. The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship were completed in December in between the second and third waves of the virus to hit Ireland, maintaining their record of having been held annually since 1887.

Gallery

• 

  Shop door showing social distancing measures.

• 

  Irish butcher implementing ad hoc social distancing measures.

• 

  Supermarket: a one-way system, instructions on social distancing, disposable gloves, trolley cleaning supplies.

• 

  Ersatz protection for employees deployed in a grocery store during the pandemic.

• 

  Pharmacy where the door has been replaced with a hatch for exchanging goods.

• 

  People queueing at an Irish supermarket; strips of black tape on the ground to demarcate 2-metre gaps.

• 

  A grandson visits his grandmother who is "cocooning" in her home.

• 

  Two-metre marking for visitors to Bram Stoker Park in Marino, Dublin.

• 

  An Irish paramedic en route to a so-called "query case" during the pandemic in Ireland.

• 

  Two pints of the famed Irish stout Guinness delivered fresh from a pub. The delivery service of pints was a novel innovation of the pandemic in Ireland. An Garda Síochána—upon taking legal advice—confirmed that there was no law against the service.

• 

  Iarnród Éireann social distancing sign on a train in July 2020.

• 

  Social distancing floor signs in an Irish supermarket in August 2020.

• 

  A principal and vice-principal greet returning students on the first day of school.

• 

  Bus Éireann social distancing signs on a bus in October 2020.

• 

  Floor physical distancing sign in an Irish store, amidst Christmas merchandise, in October 2020.

• 

  Santa conducts an outdoor visit to a housing estate in Maynooth, December 2020

• 

  Prevented from attending a funeral, mourners line the main street of Maynooth to pay their respects to the departed, December 2020.

See also

• 2020 in Ireland
• 2021 in Ireland
• COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
• COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
• COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
• Michael Ryan, Irish epidemiologist and Executive Director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme

Further reading

• McCarthy, Justin (22 March 2020). "Retired GP joins battle against COVID-19: 'I want to come back and help people'". RTÉ News.
• Fegan, Catherine (24 March 2020). "'Stay indoors, I'm young, sporty and fit, I never would have thought I'd catch coronavirus'". Irish Independent.
• Leahy, Pat (28 March 2020). "Inside the Government's battle against coronavirus: Working under unparalleled pressure, Irish officials are facing the crisis with trepidation". The Irish Times.
• Power, Jack (4 April 2020). "Covid-19: Inside the operation to evacuate Irish stranded abroad – From Peru and Australia: Behind the scenes story of how diplomats got the Irish home". The Irish Times.
• Bray, Jennifer; Leahy, Pat (9 April 2020). "The inside story of how gardaí were granted their new powers: Taoiseach was reluctant to grant new powers, but Kehoe, Madigan and Flanagan were in favour". The Irish Times.
• McGrath, Dominic (16 April 2020). "Tracked: How the HSE advice to nursing homes shifted between March and April". TheJournal.ie.

External links

• Ireland's COVID-19 Data Hub
• COVID-19 updates from the Health Service Executive (HSE)