"I want to assure people nobody will be left alone"

Stay at home. Stay at home! For the next two weeks until Easter Sunday everyone needs to stay at home."

That was the plea of Health Minister Simon Harris, speaking after stringent new measures were introduced tonight to curb the spread of Covid-19.

"Where you need to go buy food, get a prescription or get some medication or take some exercise near your home, or if you're an essential worker, but other than that we need you to stay at home and that's tough," the Minister told Miriam O'Callaghan, standing in for Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show.

"It's tough if you have children crawling the walls of school. It's tough if you've lost your job and you're worried it's tough that you can't visit your family and your friends.

"But you know what, it's all gonna be worth it when we save lives in this country."

Minister Harris also acknowledged that three more people lost their lives today, one of whom was a health worker.

He saud: "Last night we all applauded our health care workers right across the country it was a really moving moment.

"But the best way we can help them, the best way we can help them and help save lives, is by staying home, they're going to go to work.

"We need to stay at home. And if we do that, it gives us a really good chance of making sure that lots of people don't get sick at the same time. "L

"I know a lot of people are worried. A lot of people are frightened. A lot of people are probably lonely, watching this, we are going to do this together. 

"You're not going to be left alone, whether it's the GAA and sporting organisations, whether it's your church community, whether it's retailers and others who've been in touch with us and want to look at ways of making sure people are looked after in their home,

"We are going to look after you, we are going to come together and you're going to see that Irish now everything that is good about this country, the government will do all we can.

"Even more important, our communities are going to rise to this occasion.

"I want to assure people nobody will be left alone."