First St. Patrick’s Day — now this?
The Irish government ordered all pubs to close beginning on Sunday night in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
Health officials also warned against holding house parties, saying that doing so “would put other peoples’ health at risk.”
The request to close watering holes until March 29 came after videos emerged over the weekend of large groups gathering in bars across the country, the BBC reported.
The bar closures are an “essential public health measure given the reports of reckless behavior by some members of the public in certain pubs last night,” the government said.
“While the government acknowledges that the majority of the public and pub owners are behaving responsibly, it believes it is important that all pubs are closed in advance of St. Patrick’s Day,” it said.
Industry representatives had explained to government officials the difficulty in implementing social distancing while bars remained open and supported the measure, the BBC reported.
The nation canceled St. Patrick’s Day parades last week.
There were 40 new cases of the illness reported in the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, bringing the total to 169.
Two people in the country have died after becoming infected.