There have been 4,407 new cases of Covid-19 reported by the Department of Health this evening, with Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan saying the "case level is unsustainable".
614 people with Covid-19 are being treated in hospital, down eight from yesterday. 114 of these patients are being treated in intensive care units around the country.
In a statement on Twitter, Dr Holohan said there have been almost 55,000 cases of Covid-19 reported in the last 14 days.
He said the only time there have been more cases reported in a 14-day period was in January this year. He added that this figure is expected to increase in the coming days.
"When incidence of disease is as high as this, we must all act as though we are close contacts and as though we are at risk of transmitting the virus to others," he said.
Meanwhile, non-emergency services may be cancelled and the use of private hospitals expanded if Covid-19 case numbers continue to rise, the Health Service Executive's Director of Acute Hospitals has said.
"There is no mitigation for an uncontrolled continuous growth of Covid within our health system," said Liam Woods.
He also warned it is not realistic for the system to cope with between 400 and 500 ICU admissions.
Mr Woods said current capacity in ICU is 301 beds and a minimum of 100 of those are ringfenced for non-Covid patients.
Yesterday, the Cabinet Committee on Covid was told that in the worst case scenario between 400 and 500 people could require intensive care beds in December and around 2,200 people might be in hospital with Covid-19.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Woods said that 1,000 private beds are being used and this may need to be expanded to provide for other care, including urgent elective cancer surgeries.
He said the current strain on the healthcare system is centred on responding to a normal winter and the problems posed by Covid-19.
Mr Woods also warned that the timetables around delivering vaccines and the escalation of Covid-19 cases may not align.
He said there is real concern about acute capacity in the system and everything possible is being done to accelerate the booster campaign.
Mr Woods said that there is a two-week lag between high number of cases in community and what happens in ICU
"I'm very concerned that we are seeing high numbers in the last two weeks and they will translate to increased pressure on ICU," he said.
The President of Irish Medical Organisation has said there is very little capacity to deal with problems like Covid-19 in the healthcare system, while there are also huge staffing issues that need to be addressed.
Speaking on the same programme, Dr Ina Kelly said investments that are due to come through the HSE's Winter Plan are not the answer to the challenges that lie ahead for the health service in the coming months.
She said doctors are exhausted and working way beyond what they should be working, while many GPs are coming closer to retirement and there is no one to replace them.
Dr Kelly said the additional €77m allocated to the winter plan is welcome, but said it seems to be a very small amount for a huge enterprise.
Meanwhile, there were 409 patients waiting for a hospital bed this morning, according to the INMO.
It said 95 of those were waiting at University Hospital Limerick, its highest figure ever.
