The HSE chief executive Paul Reid says he is "very concerned" about the number of people in hospital with Covid-19.
There have been 14 new admissions to Irish hospitals with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest daily figure since the end of May.
There are now 94 people in hospital due to the virus compared to 23 a month ago, with 17 cases in ICU, leading to concerns from the HSE.
However, the HSE’s chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry has warned that more intensive care beds are not the solution to the spread of Covid-19.
“We can’t rely on intensive care beds as a line of defence,” Dr Henry told Newstalk Breakfast, adding that the only way to prevent spread of the virus was to limit contacts.
“We need to reduce any opportunity to catch [Covid]. You need to assume you have the virus in terms of your social contacts.”
Dr Henry said that while there was the aim to double the number of ICU beds, that would not prevent community transfer which was the problem.
“Yes, we absolutely need more beds, they were at a miserable 225 and we’re at 278 beds now.”
Trained staff and the availability of specialist equipment such as ventilators were what had led to a 79 per cent recovery rate earlier this year, he added.
This comes as a leading immunology expert says several more counties are on the brink of Level Three restrictions due to increased levels of Covid-19.
Another 188 cases of the virus were reported yesterday, including 25 in Cork, 21 in Donegal and 16 in Kildare.
According to a new Department of Health survey, 52 per cent of the population are in favour of more restrictions being introduced.
Professor Kingston Mills, from Trinity College, says more counties are in danger of restrictions similar to Dublin's.
"There's a number of counties now where the rate per 100,000 is creeping up and with the pubs opening, that's not the ideal situation.
"I imagine if those numbers creep up in those counties, we could be looking at further restrictions in a number of other counties outside Dublin."
Level Three restrictions were imposed in Dublin from midnight last Friday, while such restrictions are reportedly being discussed for seven counties outside the capital: Louth, Waterford, Limerick, Kildare, Leitrim, Donegal and Offaly.
