A further 1,631 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the State, the Department of Health has said.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 503 patients in hospital with the disease, of which 101 were in ICU.
The 7-day moving average is now 2,043, up from 1,138 only three weeks ago.
Speaking about the latest figures, Dr Tony Holohan said the incidence of Covid-19 is increasing at a concerning rate.
He said the incidence is increasing across all age groups, highest in those aged 5-12 years.
“A combination of higher levels of social contact, a move to socialisation indoors and a collective relaxing of basic public health behaviours combined has led to this surge of infection,” Dr Holohan said.
“The importance of individual, institutional and sectoral attention to risk mitigation is crucial at this point. I encourage all of us to ensure we are following basic public health advice and to expect the presence of infection prevention control measures in settings we visit.”
This comes as the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said there is no plan to reimpose restrictions but a “national effort” is now needed to bring Covid-19 under control in Ireland.
Mr Donnelly said the average number of cases over the past week was the fourth highest in Ireland since the pandemic began.
