A further 3,685 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Republic.
On Saturday morning there were 444 patients who had tested positive for the virus in hospital, with 74 in intensive care.
It comes as a composite of forecasts by European disease modelling agencies predicted that Covid cases in Ireland will peak within days and decline thereafter.
Hospital admissions will continue to rise through November, while deaths will also increase, according to the European Covid-19 forecast hub.
A total of 3,903 new cases were reported on Friday, the highest daily figure in the pandemic outside a 10-day period last January.
“This is a very concerning figure and a stark reminder that this virus is highly contagious,” said chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan. “This is not a situation any of us want to be in, but our reality remains that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic.”
The hub, which collates short-term forecasts of Covid-19 across Europe generated by different modelling teams using a wide range of approaches, forecasts almost 500 Covid-19 patients in Irish hospitals by the middle of the month.
The estimates of individual models varies considerably, and the forecasts are subject to limitations, including those relating to complexities around changing behaviours, policies and testing approaches.
