Gardaí are appealing to people in the north and west of Ireland to continue to follow public health regulations and guidelines as Operation Fanacht is set to continue this weekend, and in the coming weeks.
Gardaí in Counties Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth are asking everyone to play their part in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Speaking ahead of the next phase of Operation Fanacht, Assistant Commissioner for the North Western Region, Barry O’ Brien said that there will be a “detailed policing operation” in place throughout the northwestern region to support efforts to stop the virus’ spread.
This is a consequence of the increased Level 3 restrictions across Ireland, and the fact that three border counties have been moved to Level 4, both of which involve people not travelling outside their own counties.
NPHET has today recommended that the entire country should go to Level 5 for a six week period, which would impose further restrictions on people’s movement.
Under Level 5 lockdown, people are supposed to stay home as much as possible, and to only exercise within 5km of their own homes.
“We will be continuing our Operation Fanacht checkpoints with particular focus on cross border traffic and inter-country traffic movement,” Assistant Commissioner O’Brien said.
“Whilst we understand that it can be frustrating to be delayed at these checkpoints our main objective is to stem the spread of Covid-19 and ultimately save lives.”
“I want to re-assure the community of our continued availability to deal with existing demands to ensure that communities are kept safe and feel protected during this time.”
