of social gatherings before and after events 19 august – acting chief medical officer ronan glynn spoke in a five-minute video shared by the department of health to clarify confusion over the public health measures announced on 18 august. 21 august – the government announced that covid-19 restrictions in counties laois and offaly would be lifted but restrictions in kildare would be extended for another two weeks. 22 august a 23-year-old woman in dóchas centre became the first prisoner in ireland to test positive for covid-19. four men were arrested after around 500 people attended an anti-lockdown rally organised by the yellow vests ireland group at custom house quay in dublin. 23 august – the chair of the nphet epidemiological modelling advisory group philip nolan announced that 100 children aged between 5 and 14 tested positive for covid-19 in ireland in the previous two weeks. 24 august – 15 employees tested positive for covid-19 at three meat plants around the country. 26 august – a meat processing plant in cahir, county tipperary announced that 22 members of staff, along with 16 close contacts, tested positive for covid-19. 27 august – the national public health emergency team recommended that the government don't reopen pubs on 31 august, while acting chief medical officer ronan glynn stated that case numbers in kildare were not stabilising sufficiently to allow for lockdown restrictions to be eased early. 28 august minister for finance paschal donohoe encouraged employers to register for the employment wage subsidy scheme which would replace the temporary covid-19 wage subsidy scheme from 1 september 2020. the government announced a €16 million package of measures to help pubs, bars and nightclubs to reopen, including a 40% top-up of the restart grant. they also announced three new gardaí enforcement powers to close pubs immediately that do not serve food or maintain social distancing on the premises. 30 august – concerns were raised about breaches of social distancing after footage emerged on social media of people drinking and singing on the street of killarney, county kerry on the night of 29 august. 31 august a further 53 cases and no deaths were reported, bringing the totals to 28,811 cases and 1,777 deaths. 2 previously notified cases were de-notified. the government announced the lifting of covid-19 restrictions in kildare with immediate effect. september 2020 1 september a primary school class in dublin was sent home after one pupil tested positive for covid-19. over 22,100 employers registered for the new employment wage subsidy scheme which replaced the temporary covid-19 wage subsidy scheme. 2 september a second primary school class in dublin was sent home after a number of pupils tested positive for covid-19. a primary school in county clare closed for one week after a number of staff members were identified as close contacts of a case of covid-19. 3 september – one primary school and one secondary school in county kerry sent a number of students home after students tested positive for covid-19. 5 september acting chief medical officer ronan glynn urged people in dublin to keep their social contacts as low as possible. church bells rang out across the country as the minister for justice helen mcentee and 14 other people attended an outdoor, socially distanced ceremony at collins barracks, dublin to celebrate national services day in ireland, remembering all those in the frontline who died. 7 september over 61,000 students received their leaving certificate exam results with grades significantly higher than any other year on record. following new figures published by the cso, ireland was officially in recession after the economy shrank by 6.1% between april and june as the impact of covid-19 brought the largest quarterly drop on record. 8 september the government announced that pubs not serving food in ireland could reopen on 21 september with strict regulations in place. the irish medical organisation reported a surge in the number of children attending gps for assessment for possible covid-19. 9 september – the government announced that measures introduced on 18 august would be extended until tuesday 15 september as a new roadmap for "living with covid-19" would be announced, which would include a colour-coded, five-level system to indicate what public health measures were in place in different areas of the country at any given time. 12 september gardaí received legal powers to close restaurants and pubs which did not meet covid-19 restrictions after president michael d. higgins signed into law the criminal justice enforcement powers covid-19 bill. around 3,000 attended two anti-mask protests organised by the yellow vests ireland group at custom house quay in dublin. 13 september gardaí began an investigation of an assault of an activist following clashes between an anti-mask group and a counter-protest outside leinster house on 12 september. gardaí increased high visibility patrols in dublin to support the public health guidelines in place to reduce the spread of covid-19. 14 september – the self-isolation period for patients who test positive for covid-19 was reduced from 14 days to 10 days. 15 september the government announced a medium-term plan for living with covid-19 that included 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. 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 had tested negative for covid-19 and that the government no longer needed to restrict their movements. the department of health confirmed that acting chief medical officer ronan glynn was later revealed to be also restricting his movements as he met members of the government on 14 september, while minister of state for european affairs thomas byrne had gone into self-isolation after getting tested for covid-19. resilience and recovery 2020-2021: plan for living with covid-19 – restrictions level social & family gatherings weddings indoor & outdoor events sports training, matches & events gyms, pools & leisure centres religious services restaurants, cafés & pubs hotels, guesthouses & b&bs retail & services indoor cultural venues domestic travel public transport schools & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 training 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 17 september the department of foreign affairs added germany and poland to the government's travel green list while seven countries were removed. the nphet advised the government to implement level 3 restrictions and stop indoor dining in restaurants and pubs in dublin following a rise in confirmed cases in the capital over the last two weeks. 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. under level 3 restrictions: all indoor museums, galleries, cinemas and other cultural attractions should close. visitors were allowed from one other household only. no organised indoor gatherings should take place. organised outdoor gatherings up to only 15 people were permitted. people living in dublin should remain in the county, with the exception of those who must travel for work, education and other essential purposes. people living outside of dublin should not travel to dublin, with the exception of those who must travel for work, education and other essential purposes. schools, early learning and childcare services should remain open. retail and services such as hairdressers and beauticians would remain open with protective measures. restaurants and cafes (including pubs serving food) may remain open for takeaway and delivery and outdoor dining to a maximum of 15 people. hotels, guesthouses and b&bs may remain open, but with services limited to residents. 19 september – garda checkpoints were mounted across dublin city and county as operation fanacht recommenced following the imposition of level 3 restrictions. 21 september – gardaí began a criminal investigation of a rave organisation in a flat complex in dublin where a large crowd not abiding by covid-19 restrictions gathered on the night of 19 september. 23 september – tánaiste leo varadkar, minister for foreign affairs simon coveney and minister for finance paschal donohoe were among the three cabinet ministers who began to restrict their movements under covid-19 public health advice. 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. the department of foreign affairs updated the government's travel green list which would come into effect from 28 september, adding liechtenstein and removing four countries from the list. 25 september – garda checkpoints were mounted across donegal from midnight as operation fanacht recommenced following the imposition of level 3 restrictions. minister for further and higher education, research, innovation and science simon harris announced that all higher education institutions had been asked to deliver lectures remotely where possible for the next two weeks. 29 september a multi-agency meeting took place in galway to discuss public health concerns after hundreds of students congregated in the city on the night of 28 september, while student house parties continued to be a problem in cork city. following crime figures published by the cso, the number of burglaries dropped by 52.8% between march and june, coinciding with the imposition of covid-19 restrictions. 30 september – a further 429 cases and 1 death were reported, bringing the totals to 36,155 cases and 1,804 deaths. 14 previously notified cases were de-notified. october 2020 1 october the department of health announced that tony holohan would return to his post as chief medical officer from monday 5 october. the nphet recommended to government that a maximum of six people only from a single household should be allowed visit another home across the entire country, and that no counties were expected to see an upgrade in their level of covid-19 restrictions. 2 october – as part of a policing plan at the university of limerick,