The Department of Health has been notified of 482 new cases of Covid-19 and seven further deaths.
All of the deaths occurred in November and it takes the overall toll to 1,972, while there have been 67,099 confirmed cases.
There are 258 patients in hospital with the coronavirus, with 35 of them in intensive care units, which is down four from yesterday. There were 12 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
The latest figures come as the Taoiseach signalled a staged approach may be taken in relation to the level of Covid-19 restrictions in place after 1 December.
Of the cases notified today, 238 are men and 244 are women, with 61% under 45 years of age. The median age is 35 years old.
The regional breakdown of the cases shows that 128 were in Dublin, 45 in Cork, 43 in Waterford, 36 in Limerick, 24 in Donegal, and 24 in Meath.
The remaining 182 cases are spread across 20 other counties, with the national 14-day incidence rate at 129.2.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "The increase in case numbers of Covid-19 today is an important reminder of the unpredictable nature of this highly infectious disease.
"The hard work undertaken by all of us over the last three weeks is to be commended, but we must not allow our success to date let us drop our guard against the spread of this disease.
"We need to hold firm to the public health advice: keep 2m distance, wash our hands, wear face coverings where appropriate and limit ourselves to essential contacts from our own household.
"If we can keep up high levels of compliance, we can get to where we need to be on the 1st December."
The deaths of another 11 people in Northern Ireland with Covid-19 were announced today, taking the death toll to 1,141. Another 607 new cases of the virus were also confirmed.
Speaking this afternoon on RTÉ's News at One, Micheál Martin said an "exit plan is being worked on across Government", which will take into account advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team.
However, he said specific restrictions may be in place for Christmas week.
He said: "The fact that we're doing well gives us greater flexibility in the month of December and beyond. It is not just about Christmas.
"Originally when we went into Level 5, I did signal Level 3 as a target for 1 December.
"There may be a staged approach after 1 December. The exit plan is still being worked on across Government.
"We want to get to the end of November and get the numbers down. We will give people notice before the end of November so they can make plans."
The Fianna Fáil leader said a "national level" of restrictions would be "preferred" when the country exits Level 5, but transmission levels of the virus in Co Donegal are still "concerning".
"I'd like to come out of this nationally. We are concerned about the figures in Donegal, and we'll be making extra efforts there to see if we can get the numbers down.
"We would like preferably to come out at a national level," he said.
Mr Martin said the Government will take advice from NPHET, but the "Government will take the decision on how we exit Level 5".
He added: "We will be looking specifically at this. We are only midway through.
"We have another three weeks to go. We want to keep the pressure on. I don't want anyone to weaken their resolve on this."
Gardaí will not knock on doors on Christmas Day
The Taoiseach said they want people to have a meaningful Christmas, saying they "understand its significance in our lives".
Mr Martin said: "It will not be the same Christmas as last year. We can have a good Christmas and a meaningful one.
"I think we obviously have to look at that specific Christmas period and the week leading up to Christmas week itself, because it is a time for family and friends."
When asked about enforcement and if gardaí could knock on people's doors on Christmas Day, the Taoiseach said: "No, that's not going to happen."
The Taoiseach said he foresees places of worship being open on Christmas Day.
"Particularly the week leading up to Christmas, there are certain realities. We need to take those into account. I think the churches would be open," he said.
"It will not be the same Christmas as last year, but we can have a good Christmas," Taoiseach Micheál Martin tells Brian Dobson on RTÉ's News at One pic.twitter.com/IJrUZb3hFb
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 13, 2020
The Taoiseach said people should not book flights to return home at the moment, but he said the Government will issue further advice before the end month.
Mr Martin said he understands that people will need to make visits home for particular reasons.
"The evidence is that people will not be coming home, but there will be some people, in terms of particular family needs, that I can see the necessity would be to come back.
"But I don't see the numbers, anywhere like last year, or previous years, but we will have advice for people prior to exiting out of Level 5."
The Taoiseach said Ireland is doing well in its bid to suppress the virus and urged people from red zones not to come to Ireland.
"All of Europe is red at the moment. We don't really want lots of people travelling from red zones into Ireland at the moment," he said.
The Taoiseach said the Government was "looking at vaccines being available for groups towards the first half of 2021, maybe earlier for the more vulnerable groups".
He added: "I really stress that I think we need more precision on it and a lot depends on how they get through the regulatory authorities between now and then."
Hopefully, in the first half of 2021...we could start rolling out [Covid-19] vaccines, maybe earlier for the more vulnerable groups, Taoiseach Micheál Martin tells Brian Dobson on RTÉ's News at One pic.twitter.com/JFlJfFdlWn
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 13, 2020
In a statement this morning, to mark the mid-point of the Level 5 restrictions, which were introduced on 22 October, Mr Martin said data suggests that the effort to suppress the virus is working and commended people on the "great national effort".
He highlighted young people for particular praise for their response to the restrictions, and paid tribute to frontline workers for their efforts throughout the pandemic, saying they "continue to be an inspiration in terms of their courage and commitment".
Meanwhile, a consultant in infectious diseases has warned that Christmas can be "hazardous" when it comes to the spread of Covid-19.
Dr Eoghan De Barra advised that if gatherings are allowed come 25 December, then people should try to keep their gatherings focused on family, keep the number of contacts low, consider "at risk" people in their group and think about meeting up outside.
He said people should also even think about restricting movements or quarantining before the event to safeguard it somewhat.
The Chief Medical Officer said last night that people should avoid non-essential travel for the foreseeable future.
Dr Holohan said in the weeks before Christmas international travel could become the dominant issue concerning the spread of the virus as the relative risk of picking up the disease from someone returning to Ireland from abroad will increase.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has also advised people looking to book flights home for Christmas not to do so at the moment.
His comments were criticised by Irish people living overseas, who accused him of "washing his hands" of the diaspora.
