Government set to introduce 11:30pm closing time for hospitality as COVID cases rise

In a bid to curb rising Covid cases, the Government will reportedly announce later today that hospitality venues must close by 11:30pm after this Thursday.

This includes concerts, late bars, nightclubs and restaurants with senior Government figures reportedly fearing "futher restrictions may be needed in a few week's time."

It was only a few weeks ago that nightclubs and indoor concerts were allowed to return after a long period of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time of writing, these venues will be still allowed to operate normally but must be closed by 11:30pm.

The news also comes as the PUP payment was reduced by €50 this week.

Cabinet agreed to this new measure as well as deciding to curb the "return to office working" yesterday.

The new advice on "working from home" will be announced Friday following feedback they received from the HSE yesterday regarding the health service's ability to cope with a further rise in Covid-19 cases and numbers in ICU Beds.

Other measures being considered include the mandatory use of Covid certificate in gyms, hairdressers and barbers, as well as subsidised antigen tests.

It's also expected that the vaccine booster programme will be extended soon to those over the age of 50.

4,570 new cases of Covid-19 reported by the Department of Health yesterday. 117 of these patients are being treated in ICU beds, an increase of 11 on the previous day.