(Alliance News) - Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday that "limited crowds" will be permitted to attend sporting events in the country as part of the latest adjustment to the country's coronavirus-related rules.
Attendances will be capped at 200 people where stadium capacity exceeds 5,000, with 100 the limit at smaller facilities.
According to the plans, some of the bigger grounds, such as the 82,000-capacity Croke Park and the 51,700-seat Aviva Stadium, will have tailored limits to be set at a later date.
Among the main events coming up are the Republic of Ireland's Nations League football ties against Wales and Finland and Ireland's rescheduled Six Nations rugby clash with Italy on October 24.
Gaelic football and hurling tournaments, which usually are held during the summer and draw crowds of over 80,000, will start in October and end before Christmas.
After a strict lockdown from March to June, Ireland briefly allowed 200 people attend outdoor events before rescinding the rule in August after a slight rise in new daily coronavirus case numbers.
Around half the cases announced in recent days have been in capital Dublin, location of Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium. Â
Martin described the latest numbers in Dublin, where 1.4 million of the country's 4.9 million people live, as "very worrying" and said a scheduled September 21 nationwide reopening of pubs will not apply in the capital.
Health officials have reported more than 31,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, though only 68 people are in hospital after testing positive.Â
source: dpa
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