Ireland's 14-day average of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people is now the third-highest in Europe, according to HSE chief Paul Reid.
During a HSE briefing today, he says Ireland's rate now sits at 25.4 per 100,000.
He also says there has been an increase in contacts per person for those with the virus, sometimes it has been up to 50 people per person.
Mr Reid says he understands how the "unpredictability, uncertainty of the pandemic is causing a high level of frustration from people."
He also refuted claims recent claims made recently around testing saying:
"Our escalation plan has worked recently. It is untrue that the test and trace system is falling apart and to say that is alarmist."
There are currently 16 people with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Irish hospitals and 12 people with the virus in ICUs.
Mr Reid said, "The recent increases in cases have been a shock to our society and it has put a strain on test and tracing system."
In terms of testing, he said that in the last week 55,000 were tested, which is the second-highest testing figures since April.
There has been a sharp increase from 50 cases per week to now over 600 cases per week.
Serial testing
He also said that the HSE has continued to conduct serial and mass testing in the Midlands. There were some delay recently with a batch completion of negative tests in meat factories.
Overall, 730,000 tests have been completed to date since the onset of the pandemic in Ireland. In terms of test and tracing, there has been a median wait time of 2.3 days from the time a person gets tested and their contacts are notified.
There has been an increased number of testing services and pop up services recently, particularity in the Midlands. Also, over 1.6 million people have now downloaded the COVID tracker app, according to the HSE
Mr Reid also that when it comes to clusters in meat plants, shared accommodation has been a factor. Serial testing is also being done in Direct Provision centres, nursing homes and meat plants.
At the briefing, Anne O'Connor the HSE's chief operations officer also said that the Citywest convention centre is still being used as a self-isolation centre.
There are currently 67 healthcare workers in the isolation centre, while overall 174 people are in the self-isolation centre.
Ms O'Connor also said that "95 per cent of those who have died due to Covid-19 has been people over 70."
