THE GOVERNMENT HAS announced that all religious services will be cancelled in Laois, Kildare and Offaly from midnight due to a spike in the number of cases of Covid-19 in the counties.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin this evening announced that those three counties are to have restrictions imposed on them. Over 60 of the 98 new confirmed cases are from Kildare, Laois and Offaly. 

Cinemas, theatres, gyms, bingo halls and swimming pools are to close. People who are already staying in hotels in the three counties are allowed to remain for the duration of their booking, but hotels will otherwise be limited to non-social and non-tourism operations.

Under the new rules for the region, attendance at a funeral service and burial or cremation ceremony should be limited to 25 people outdoors. Indoor events connected to the funeral are now limited to a maximum of six people.

Places of worship will remain open for private prayer, the Government said, but services are to be held online.

Visiting is to be stopped in hospitals, prisons and long-term residential care facilities, except in exceptional circumstances. 

You can read the full list of measures here.