The HSE says the healthcare system is overheated, stressed and under serious pressure.
617 patients are in hospital with Covid 19 and 117 are in ICU.
Health officials have revealed critical care is being administered to patients outside of the ICU in some hospitals because of a huge strain on the system.
Dr Colm Henry is Chief Clinical Officer with the HSE:
"If the pressures that we're seeing on intensive care units are sustained now and get worse, certainly we'd be in a very difficult situation even with the additional intensive care capacity we have we've learned the hard way and other countries have you can't rely on intensive care or hospitals via line of defence against COVID. At the primary line of defence is out there in the community."
