People in the region are being asked to "reconsider plans" this weekend and to socialise with a small and select circle of friends in order to curb the spread of the virus.
It comes as yesterday Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government would have “no hesitation” in implementing further restrictions in Dublin if it were deemed necessary.
The Taoiseach said the Government would receive advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on Tuesday and a decision would follow.
A further 159 new cases of the virus were announced yesterday evening, 75 of which were in the capital, a number close to 50 per cent of the total.
Announcing yesterday’s number of confirmed cases, Dr Glynn said individual choices would make “all the difference” in the coming weeks: “For the people of Dublin in particular, this is a critical moment to address the spread of the disease in the community.
“Individual choices can make all the difference - reconsider your plans for the weekend, reduce the number of people that you meet and avoid social activities that involve large groups of people.
"Covid-19 is a highly infectious disease that can spread even when you have no symptoms. Remember, when you do meet with friends, family and colleagues, staying two metres apart is the best way to keep everyone safe.”
Rising rate
It emerged yesterday that Ireland's 14 day incidence rate of the virus per 100,000 people had increased by more than a third in the past seven days to Saturday.
New figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control now show the country's rate has increased again over the weekend, with 41 cases of the virus per 100,000 people, up from 40.6 on Saturday and a comparatively low 29.6 last weekend.
Professor Sam McConkey of the Royal College of Surgeons has said it is vital that people reduce their contacts: “What’s not so good for Covid is that you would hang with a different person, say, every day of the week or even lots of people in the same day.
“The whole idea is to pick our friends and social circle carefully who you really enjoy being with, and then to really enjoy the time with them.”
Dr Glynn has warned in recent days that infections are set to double in the capital over the next two weeks if immediate action is not taken to break the “chains of transmission”.
“We are now reporting an average of 104 new cases each day in Dublin, and over the past fortnight alone, we’ve reported 1,055 cases in Dublin,” he said on Friday.
