3 further deaths of the virus have also been reported
It's the highest daily number of cases since the height of the pandemic in April and third highest overall.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan says all of the important indicators of the disease are deteriorating.
The 14 day incident rate of the infection has increased by 39 percent in seven days and the test positivity rate has more than doubled in a fortnight.
Infectious diseases specialist Professor Sam McConkey says we can't wait until our hospitals are overwhelmed to take action:
