Micheál Martin: Cork city a 'danger area' as Covid rates rise

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Covid-19 rates are rising sharply in cities, but there is an opportunity to stabilise it. Picture: Clare Keogh

Cork city is now a “danger area” for coronavirus as cases have increased rapidly in the past two weeks, the Taoiseach said, sparking fears that an urban lockdown may be imminent.

Infection rates have been rising in urban areas, and public health officials are “very concerned” that the cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford will have to go into lockdown as universities and institutes of technology reopen, Micheál Martin said.