Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has urged the public to reduce contacts to a minimum as the number of people infected with Covid-19 continues to soar.
Almost 5,000 new cases and a further seven deaths were reported yesterday.
A backlog of around 9,000 positive cases is now being cleared and is part of the reason the latest figures are so high.
The number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 has increased to 744, according to the latest official figures.
It represents an increase on the figure of 673 patients reported around this time yesterday.
In the last 24 hours, there have been 51 further admissions to hospital of Covid-19 cases.
The largest number of patients recorded in hospital with Covid-19 during the pandemic here was 881, reported on 15 April last year.
The number of patients in ICU today is 65, current figures show.
There are 744 positive cases of Covid-19 in hospitals, HSE Chief Executive @PaulReiddublin tells @boucherhayes, adding that this is rising by 20% per day.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 4, 2021
There are 65 patients with Covid-19 being treated in intensive care units | Read more: https://t.co/ZkLy8xhINn pic.twitter.com/dwg1sVSJKg
Both public health officials and politicians are gravely concerned about the upward trajectory of these stark figures.
Dr Glynn warned that while the vaccine was a justifiable reason for hope, it would not protect against new infections in the next two critical weeks.
Many who are already infected will end up in hospital over the coming days, and the priority now is to prevent further new infections.
With today being traditionally a "return to work" day, Dr Glynn urged employers to facilitate as many employees as possible to work from home.
Everyone should behave as if they are infected, they should stay at home and should cut contacts to the bare essential minimum.
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned the surge in infections and hospitalisations was not only unsustainable for the healthcare system, but also reflected a deeply concerning level of preventable sickness and suffering.
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The Vice President of the Intensive Care Society of Ireland has said the ICU community is "very concerned" at the moment.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Alan Gaffney, a consultant at Beaumont Hospital, said occupation in ICU is currently around 87% to 90%.
That is not unusual for this time of year, he said, but he warned that the system is coming under increasing pressure.
Dr Gaffney said there had been 12 admissions to ICU in the last 24 hours and there are currently 66 Covid-19 patients in ICU - a tripling of Covid patients in the last eight days.
He said the ICU system has never had to be tested beyond its full capacity, and although there are plans in place to allow this to happen, it is a concerning prospect.
He said there are currently around 280 beds in the ICU system, which can be increased to 350. Each hospital has put together a plan to do this safely, he added.
If this were to happen, Dr Gaffney said, nurses and staff from other areas in the hospital would have to be drafted in to assist the ICU.
He said taking professionals from other services would not be ideal, but it has been done before and we can be confident it could be done successfully again.
Consideration may be given to introducing 'additional measures' to tackle the surge in Covid-19 cases, but existing Level 5 restrictions must be given 'time to work' first, Minister Roderic O'Gorman has said | Read more Covid-19 coverage: https://t.co/ZkLy8xhINn pic.twitter.com/KxDwD0S8oS
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 4, 2021
The Minister for Children has said we need to give time for the Level 5 restrictions introduced on 24 December to work, but said the Government must be ready to do more if necessary.
Speaking on the same programme he said it will take about ten to fourteen days for the effect of Level 5 to be seen.
He added that any further restrictions must be based on evidence.
The Green Party TD also said the number of Covid-19 cases are concerning and there is a real sense of nervousness out there, but added that we must remember that we have dealt with soaring numbers in the past and had success when public health measures were implemented.
He added that the roll-out of the vaccine is really significant and said 17,000 health care professionals will be vaccinated this week, while all nursing home residents should be vaccinated by the middle of February.
17,000 healthcare professionals are to receive the Covid-19 vaccine this week, Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman has said.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 4, 2021
He said the roll-out of the vaccine in nursing homes is happening over the next 'number of weeks' | Read more: https://t.co/ZkLy8xhINn pic.twitter.com/yrCIf2NWm8
Additional reporting Fergal Bowers
