People play in a park in Dublin, Ireland, May 5, 2020. Ireland on Tuesday eased some of its lockdown measures introduced more than a month ago following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. (Xinhua)

 Ireland on Tuesday eased some of its lockdown measures introduced more than a month ago following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Under the relaxed rules, people are allowed to travel up to five kilometers from their homes for the purpose of exercise, up from two kilometers.

Medically vulnerable people, referring to those aged over 70 or with serious underlying health conditions, are also allowed to leave their homes for a brief period of time for exercise or a ride provided they avoid all contact with others. Both these groups must maintain the two-meter social distancing rules when out.

On March 27, the government issued a stay-at-home order, demanding all the people in the country not to leave their homes unless in some specific circumstances, such as going outside for the government-defined essential work or for buying food or medicine.

The order, which was supposed to come to an end on Tuesday, has been extended for two more weeks until May 18 except the above-mentioned two minor changes due to the fact that the pandemic still poses a serious threat to public health.

On Tuesday night, the Irish Department of Health announced that 211 more COVID-19 cases and another 23 deaths were reported in the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the total numbers to 21,983 and 1,339 respectively.

The government announced last Friday a roadmap to reopen the country's social life and business. According to the roadmap, the county will be reopened in five stages, with each stage to be reviewed at three-week intervals.

If the pandemic were to recur, the government has the authority to impose new and stricter restrictions, the Irish prime minister said when announcing the roadmap.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which first broke out in Ireland at the end of February, has had a huge impact on the island country with a population of less than five million.

A couple walk in a park in Dublin, Ireland, May 5, 2020. Ireland on Tuesday eased some of its lockdown measures introduced more than a month ago following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. (Xinhua)

 Earlier in the day, the Irish Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection announced that so far 598,000 people in the country have received the government's COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, accounting for about one-fourth of the country's total labour force.

The emergency plan, which allows people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic to live on the state-supported income, has laid a huge burden on the Irish government. Under the scheme, each qualified individual is entitled to a weekly subsidy of 350 euros (380 U.S. dollars) for an initial period of 12 weeks.

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said last week that the government's deficit for 2020 will jump to 23 billion euros due to the pandemic impact, which will make up 7.4 percent of the country's GDP. (1 euro=1.09 U.S. dollars)