Ireland has said it will restrict indoor drinking and eating in bars and restaurants to those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or who have previously been infected by it due to concerns about the Delta variant, Reuters reports.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, who announced a general slowdown of the easing of public health restrictions, said that health officials told him they thought that the variant made indoor hospitality too dangerous for the unvaccinated.

Only 41 per cent of Ireland's adult population has been vaccinated, with 65pc having received one dose, the health minister said on Monday. A senior health official earlier this month said some in their 20s may have to wait until September for a first dose.