A number of factors have brought us to this point, where further measures are being introduced by Government to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Outbreaks in some meat factories, a mushroom farm and direct provision centres have contributed to it.
So too has the drift in test and tracing turnaround times, with the system under more pressure now, with more clusters and cases.
Tonight, 190 new cases were reported. The figure last Saturday was 200.
More than 54,800 tests were performed in the last week, so that is an average of 7,800 a day. The capacity is said to be 100,000 a week. Some experts believe the system is falling apart and has slowed down.
The HSE says that the median end-to-end turnaround time for community and hospital tests combined from referral to the completion of contact tracing is approximately 2.8 days. Of course, the inclusion of hospital test rates in that figure helps reduce the overall turnaround time.
Images of reckless partying have also contributed to concerns that the virus could leak into the community and put vulnerable people in particular at risk.
Ireland's rate of growth of new cases in the last two weeks is the fourth highest in Europe.
Most of the new cases we see are in people under 45 years of age. In the early stages of this pandemic, the outbreaks were in nursing homes and residential care settings. There have been 235 nursing home outbreaks and 43 in workplaces.
Now, the outbreaks are in private homes and workplaces. There are a total of 1,547 private home outbreaks. So, there has been a notable shift.
The World Health Organization has said that the pandemic is being driven by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of whom are unaware they are infected.
People over 70 have been among the most compliant during the pandemic. So the new Government advice for people over 70 may taste like a bitter pill for some. During the first phases, people over 70 suffered a lot of loneliness, lost confidence, missed home care and also medical appointments.
For some older people, the lockdown has never really ended. Physical activity and exposure to sunlight is important for those over 70, for their mental and physical health and their immune system.
The existing advice for those over 70 already advises people in this group to stay at home as much as they can, so in some respects, today does not change a lot.
But Active Retirement Ireland has said that older people are being punished for the actions of others, and that today's announcement that older people are to limit their time spent outdoors is disrespectful to our older population.
Also today, the Government has indicated there will be stricter oversight of compliance by pubs that have reopened. It is unfortunate that we have not seen any detailed data on any outbreaks in pubs. It may be that there has not yet been a single case.
Also, the science behind the requirement that patrons must have food is unclear. The closing time for pubs and restaurants is now extended by half an hour.
The decision to have all sporting events take place behind closed doors will be a further disappointment to the sector and spectators, especially during this late summer/autumn period. It has perplexed some experts, given that the virus is significantly less transmissible outdoors than indoors.
Avoiding public transport where possible will be a challenge for people with no car, those who don't cycle and can't walk to where they need to be.
Some will scratch their heads over the fact that a wedding with 50 people is okay, but a little girl cannot have more than six people to her indoor birthday party.
The advice to work from home as much as possible has been there, more or less, since the beginning.
Six months into the pandemic, it is understandable that some people are tired and frazzled. They also want clear communication of messages and the logic behind all measures.
Today's measures are something of a mixed bag. The limits on social gatherings inside to prevent house parties and outside gatherings are modest tweaks.
We will also have to see how well it will all be policed under promised new powers for the gardaí to ensure restaurants, bars and private homes comply with the rules.
There is little point in introducing new measures on top of old ones and not policing them. That undermines public confidence and buy-in to disrupted ways of living in this radically altered world.
The Government is working on a roadmap for the next six to nine months.
People are looking to understand the end game, the grand strategy of where Ireland needs to get to, and what is acceptable, to allow life progress with some continuity.
Because for the public an extended period of yo-yoing with case numbers and constantly changing restrictions would be a living hell.
