Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has issued a public plea asking everyone to stay at home over the upcoming bank holiday weekend.

Taking to Twitter today, he asked people to refrain from visiting holiday homes or caravan parks during the Easter break.

"Please do not visit a holiday home or caravan park this Easter weekend. The spread of the virus is slowing but people travelling could give it a boost - spreading it and seeding it in areas unaffected so far. Stay at home and #FlattenTheCurve".

Please do not visit a holiday home or caravan park this Easter weekend. The spread of the virus is slowing but people travelling could give it a boost - spreading it and seeding it in areas unaffected so far. Stay at home and #FlattenTheCurve

— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) April 7, 2020

Although the current restrictions have been followed for the most part, warm weather has been forecast for the days ahead and this together with an extended weekend has caused concern that people may flout the rules. According to reports in recent days, people have been travelling to holiday homes and the local residents in these areas have expressed concern about the potential spread of Covid-19 as a result. At the moment, the country is currently operating under lockdown which means staying home apart from food shopping, visiting the pharmacy and exercising within 2km of your home. Only people providing essential services are permitted to travel to work. An update on whether lockdown will continue past April 12 (Easter Sunday) is expected later this week although it's widely believed that the current restrictions will continue. The National Public Health Emergency Team are meeting to discuss the matter today but a final decision is likely to be reached on Friday. In a video posted on his Twitter account last night, the Minister for Health,  Simon Harris said this week "is a very crucial one".

"This virus is very much here, it is still at an unsustainable level, I need to be honest with you in that regard. Whilst we are making progress, we are not yet where we need to be so we do need to keep at it, keep at it, keep at it".

Monday evening #coronavirus update - European call, Galway medical grad, Public Health Emergency Team meeting, engaging with nurses & Kate got a new dog #Covid19 https://t.co/5Csisihzgb

— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 6, 2020