People may have to wear face masks in certain settings when any coronavirus restrictions start to be eased.
It comes amid reports restrictions may not be lifted at all or only eased slightly from next week because of concerns at the high number of new cases being recorded.
701 new cases of Covid-19 were announced here last night, along with an additional 26 deaths.
Chairman of the Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group, Cillian De Gascun, says face masks are forming part of their discussions.
"If they were going into a confined setting, a retail store or a cafe to get a takeaway or something like that, in that situation where they're going to be in close contact with people and physical distancing is not possible, then masks will certainly form part of our discussion."
