All pubs have been asked to close in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus as another 40 new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in Ireland. "In the interests of public health all pubs and all bars in Ireland will close this evening until March 29. "This is not an excuse to have what I am now hearing is emerging around the country - Covid-19 parties. It’s absolutely the right thing to do, we are doing it in the long term interest of public health of our staff and customers," he said. Speaking about the footage that went viral online from a Dublin city pub, Minister Harris said the scenes were "really disappointing".

Source: Irish Independent March 15, 2020 17:31 UTC