People over 70 and the medically vulnerable in the three counties have been advised against using public transport as the number of new confirmed cases in the three counties has risen dramatically.
226 cases have been confirmed in the three Leinster counties over the past two weeks, almost half of all recent cases.
Eighty workers at O'Brien Fine Foods in Timahoe have also tested positive for the virus, while a further 42 are being tested.
In Thursday evening's press conference from the Department of Health, people were urged to take urgent action if they have any Covid-19 symptoms and double down on their efforts.
The acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn says he will issue further guidance for people in these areas later today, once the confirmed cases start coming in.
Five further deaths and 69 more confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Republic on Thursday.
Four of the newly confirmed deaths are from April and June.
