There are no plans for extra restrictions despite a dramatic surge in Covid cases, according to a junior minister.
It's as a further 10,404 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed on St Stephen’s Day, after new infections on Christmas Day and Eve broke previous records.
In the wake of Christmas celebrations, the country’s chief medical officer urged the public not to meet anyone outside of their household indoors.
Minister of State, Niall Collins, says the situation is very concerning - but there'll be no new lockdown.
"The government hasn't discussed any additional restrictions in view of the rise in cases.
"The rise of the number of cases has been entirely predicted and that now it is materialising. So the government will continue to monitor and assess the situation over the coming week.
"When we return the following week, NPHET and the Government will obviously have a conversation amongst each other in relation to that."
A new record for infections set on Christmas Eve was short-lived, as infections on Christmas Day increased to almost 13,800.
Hospital numbers on Sunday morning rose sharply, with 48 admissions overnight bringing the total number of Covid inpatients to 426, with 87 people in intensive care.
The Government remains “very concerned” at the rising number of cases over recent days, Minister of State Collins said.
“This is as predicted, and we would really urge people to take on board the advice which we have given, that people need to avoid groups settings, reduce our social contacts... avail of your booster vaccination, and if you have symptoms, isolate and get yourself a PCR test,” he said.
Affected areas
The capital continues to be the worst-affected area of the country, with one in every 52 people in Dublin testing positive for the virus in the space of the latest two weeks.
Dublin has by far the highest 14-day incidence rate in the country, at 1,930 cases per 100,000 people. This is followed by Louth, at 1,786, and Kilkenny, at just under 1,700.
22 counties have rates of at least 1,000, while the Covid incidence rate in Mayo is the lowest, at 780 cases per 100,000 people.
The nationwide five-day moving average of Covid cases has more than doubled over the past 10 days to 8,788, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant now accounts for at least 83 per cent of cases.
