Ireland will move to a modified Level 3 next week.
From Tuesday, shops, gyms, cinemas and hairdressers will open but household mixing remains banned.
Restaurants and pubs serving food can re-open for indoor dining on Friday despite NPHET warning the risk is still too high.
Nationwide travel restrictions will be lifted for two weeks from December 18th, with three households allowed to gather over Christmas.
Taoiseach Michael Martin says people will be asked to wear masks on busy streets, in crowded workplaces and in places of worship from next week:
'I think we know what a busy street is and we know what a crowded street is. I think we need to be practical and use our common sense. Henry Street, Grafton Street, Patrick's Street, you name all the busy streets in the run up to Christmas they're going to be busy. And in many ways, they'll be almost the equivalent of the shopping mall or the shopping centers, so were asking people to wear the masks as an extra precaution.'
