Chief Constable Simon Byrne and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris met on the Monaghan-Tyrone border earlier, while patrols were being carried out.

Gardaí have been spat or coughed at on more than 30 occasions in the last two-and-a-half weeks, while the controversial anti-spit guards have been used on 15 occasions.

Gardaí will launch a major crackdown ahead of the May bank holiday weekend to prevent people travelling to holiday homes, with one local authority to use drones at beaches to ensure compliance with social distancing.

The Gardaí made seven previous arrests over Easter Weekend under new emergency powers as part of Operation Fanacht.

Members of the public should call out Covid-19 cheats and inform gardaí about people breaching lockdown restrictions introduced to combat the virus.