The average number of close contacts reported by confirmed Covid-19 cases has risen to over 3.5 as lockdown restrictions have eased in recent weeks.
This is up from two close contacts for each person confirmed to have the virus when full restrictions were in place.
Earlier this week, the average number of close contacts rose above five before dropping back down.
In one case diagnosed last week, the individual named a total of 25 contacts, according to the The Health Service Executive (HSE).
This high number of contacts had not been seen since the HSE began contact tracing in mid-March.
But the average number of 3.5 contacts is still down from the figure in mid-March, when the average number of close contacts was 20.
Once restrictions came into place, this dropped to an average of two close contacts per person.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Health, 60% of confirmed Covid-19 cases contracted the virus from close contact with others. Meanwhile, community transmission accounts for 38% and travel abroad accounted for 2% of confirmed cases.
Members of the public have been warned to limit their close contacts as much as possible, even as the country begins to ease restrictions.
Health Minister Simon Harris has urged people not to “clock up” the number of close contacts they have with people.
Last weekend he warned: “We have a duty to each other to keep our close contacts low.
“We don’t need to meet three people in the morning and a different five friends in the afternoon and a different group of people in the evening and then go and see our granny at night.
“We don’t need to try and clock up lots of close contacts.”
Meanwhile, hospitalisation rates for those with or suspected to have the virus continued to decline this week.
A total of 75 people confirmed to have Covid-19 are currently in hospital, according to the latest report from the HSE.
A total of 29 confirmed cases in hospital are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 16 of whom are on ventilators. An additional nine people suspected to have the coronavirus are also in an ICU.
This is down significantly from the peak on April 9, when 160 Covid patients were in ICUs.
Of the 29 confirmed cases in hospital, 20 are in Dublin, two are in Cork and the rest are at other ICUs throughout the country.
The number of community swab tests now being taken daily is about 2,500, although the HSE has the capacity to conduct up to 15,000 tests per day, or up to 100,000 per week.
The turnaround time from test referral to lab result is an average of 1.2 days.
