Ireland announced Tuesday it will fully reopen its economy on October 22 after 18 months of lockdowns enforced to reduce COVID-19 infections.
Starting September 6, authorities will allow an easing of prohibitions on organized indoor and outdoor activities and social gatherings.
Music, theater and other live events will from that point continue for immunized people at 60% capacity indoors and 75% capacity outdoors.
Religious and outdoor sporting venues will also be allowed to accommodate half of their capacity from that date.
Restrictions on high-risk activities, including bars and nightclubs, will be removed from October 22.
The 11.30 p.m. curfew on restaurants and bars will remain in place until October 22.
Requirements for social distancing and curbs on numbers that can meet in private residences will also be lifted.
Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the two-meter policy would be lifted as well depending on the requirement of individual sectors.
Ireland's cabinet said that the loosening of policies is reliant on 90% of adults being inoculated and COVID-19 infection rates remaining manageable.
The wearing of face coverings will still be compulsory on public transport and in the health and retail sectors across Ireland.
Nearly 90% of adults in the country have been fully immunized as are 80% of 12 years old and above, health officials said.
Prime Minister Micheal Martin has announced the government's blueprint for the "new normal," saying Ireland was embarking on an critical step forward after the ravages of the global health crisis.
The prime minister said the people had "looked after each other" during their most difficult moments of the pandemic. But as he disclosed the important timelines for the country's reopening, he warned the crisis is "not over."
The Irish government has been criticized in recent weeks by the live-events sector as major concerts were held in Britain, which lifted most prohibitions on July 19 but has a decreased rate of inoculations.
Martin cautioned of an increase in infections in the coming weeks before an expected decline.
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people in Ireland, which has a population of about 5 million.
