The average number of daily cases of Covid 19 has risen from 350 to 424 over the past week.
Canada saw a spike in cases following Thanksgiving and there are concerns that could happen here too.
Minister Stephen Donnelly feels the message to Irish abroad is clear.
"You don't need to travel in the middle of an international global pandemic, which is causing so much hurt and pain and cost for everybody, then don't. The second part of the message is, however, if you do need to travel, and that includes if you haven't seen your family if you do need to come home and see your family at Christmas - then there is a clear traffic light system in place for the protocols that you need to follow"
