The Chief Medical Officer has said that everybody needs to act to break the chains of transmission of Covid-19.
Speaking at a Department of Health press briefing, Dr Tony Holohan said: "There is no more time to be lost.
"We need everybody to act and we need to break the chains of transmission of this virus as soon as possible."
A further 825 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed, as well as one virus-related death.
There have now been a total of 43,531 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and 1,827 virus-related deaths.
Of the new cases notified today, 426 are men and 392 are women.
The department said 78% of the new cases are under the age of 45, while the average age is 30.
It said that 254 of the new cases are reported in Dublin, 147 in Cork, 39 are in Cavan, 38 in Donegal, 37 in Kildare and the remaining 310 cases are spread across 20 other counties.
Latest figures from the HSE show that the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospitals is 224, and 32 of these patients are in intensive care.
While the number of confirmed cases in hospitals has increased, the number in intensive care has remained relatively stable.
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Dr Holohan said Ireland is probably about mid-table at the rate the virus increasing and that the whole of Europe is seeing a resurgence of Covid.
"Our first line of defence in relation this virus is our own individual behaviours," he said.
Another line of defence is the public health system, which identifies when people become infected, traces contacts and puts in place isolation for those who are contacted.
Dr Holohan said those first two lines of the defence are the most important.
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"The Government isn't going to wash your hands for you. It's not going to put a face mask properly on you." Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) says it is up to individuals to take responsibility for their own actions to help suppress #Covid19 | https://t.co/vibbxsCHUj pic.twitter.com/MAhGB86qW3
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 12, 2020
The CMO has said that positivity rates of the virus are "rising rapidly" in all counties.
Dr Holohan told the briefing that 7,988 Covid-19 cases have been notified over the past 14 days, and there is a 14-day incidence of 168 cases per 100,000. This is an increase from 108 at the beginning of the week.
He said the median age is 32 years, with 9% in children aged 0-14 and 27% of cases in 15-24 year olds. 18% of the cases are in 25-34 year olds.
The briefing heard that 709 cases, or 9%, are in 65 years and older, while 470 (6%) cases, were in healthcare workers.
Dr Holohan said 20 counties are reporting a 14-day incidence in excess of 100 per 100,000.
He said the National Public Health Emergency Team will meet again on Thursday and continue to assess and track of the virus and see if the measures are working.
No enough evidence to say Dublin is stable
Dr Holohan said that the growth rate in Dublin is lower than it was. However, he said they have not seen enough of a change yet to conclude the situation is sufficiently stable.
The briefing heard that on each of the last three days they have seen cases numbers go up again in Dublin.
Dr Holohan said that they cannot conclude that a corner has been turned in Dublin, although the growth rate there has changed.
When asked why NPHET did not recommend moving to Level 5 last Thursday, Dr Holohan said the incubation period is very long.
He said it would have been ridiculous to come back with a Level 5 recommendation two days after the Government had decided to go to Level 3.
He said this Thursday, NPHET will look at how the Level 3 measures are working, and he said he would like to see some encouraging signs that day.
Dr Holohan said NPHET has never feared giving the advice it has and that decisions are not made lightly.
"They are not things we do without proper consideration and we do them with the full understanding of the onerous affect on individuals and all of us collectively as a society," he said.
Dr Holohan said it will not be possible to protect nursing homes adequately, if there is widespread community transmission of Covid-19.
He said it represents "an existential risk to people in nursing homes and it represents an existential risk to people in older age groups and in vulnerable age groups that are living in the community".
'Not a normal Halloween'
Dr Holohan told the briefing that there will not be a normal Halloween this year.
"It's not going to be a normal Halloween, it can't be," he said. "We can’t have children and families moving from house to house."
He also said that now is not the time for play dates and birthday parties.
Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) says "it's not going to be a normal Halloween. It can't be. We can't have children and families moving from house to house in the way that normally happens at Halloween." #Covid19 #Halloween | https://t.co/yro2bXPnFk pic.twitter.com/yjD6NoS70Q
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 12, 2020
He also said he was genuinely concerned that there had been a creep of people who did work from home in the early stages of the pandemic, who are now heading back into the office.
Dr Holohan said he was appealing to people to work from home if they can.
In relation to controlling the transmission of the virus on the whole island of Ireland, Dr Holohan said NPHET wants to work as closely as possible with their counterparts in Northern Ireland.
He said they are in constant contact with their counterparts and that there is a challenge with the spread of Covid-19 in relation to a number of counties, such as Donegal.
Dr Holohan said they have seen very substantial transmission patterns in Cavan in recent days, which are very large in population terms compared to other counties.
He said there has been a particular challenge in terms of population movements in those counties that are close to Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has said that the next 24 hours are crucial on the island of Ireland in the battle against Covid-19.
She was speaking following a meeting with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health and Dr Holohan.
Ms McDonald said health interventions and social supports are now required.
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Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the National Public Health Emergency Team's Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said people should not be fearful or despair.
"Let's not be fearful, or despair, but care for each other by committing again to do everything in our power to stop the virus spreading.
"It's more than individual responsibility: who can you support, encourage or influence?" he said on Twitter.
Let's not be fearful, or despair, but care for each other by committing again to do everything in our power to stop the virus spreading. It’s more than individual responsibility: who can you support, encourage or influence? "The sun rises in spite of everything" pic.twitter.com/Hn1SIgO0Et
— Professor Philip Nolan (@President_MU) October 12, 2020
