269 cases have also been recorded including 8 in Cork
It's after a further 18 Covid-19 related deaths were confirmed last night, the majority of which took place in November.
The government and NPHET have advised against non-essential travel this Christmas.
DCU Professor of Health Systems, Anthony Staines, says he's losing sleep at the prospect of international travellers coming home:
"I have nightmares where I think of large numbers of people coming home from areas with higher Covid rates than ours and spreading the virus to four corners of the country again. It is a real risk. The only real way to avoid the risk is to quarantine yourself for 14 days before you go to visit your nearest and dearest. The challenge is doing that for most people that are insurmountable."
