Dr Ronan Glynn has issued a warning for Dublin following a "substantial" rise in coronavirus cases over the last two weeks.
The capital along with Carlow, Limerick and Wexford in the last fortnight have had a high number of infections compared to the rest of the country
And the Acting Chief Medical Officer has warned that people in these counties should take "extra care".
However he insisted that the number of infections in these areas does not necessarily mean there will be a local lockdown.
He told a press conference on Monday: "In relation to Dublin, we're keeping it under review, we keep the situation in all counties under review.
"But to a certain extent what we're seeing in Dublin now is a reversion to the situation we would have seen earlier in the padnemic.
"Obviously Dublin has a very significant population and so it's not surprising we're seeing more cases in Dublin than in other counties, but we will keep it closely under review."
He added: "And it’s not just Dublin, we’ve seen 98 cases in Limerick over the past fortnight, 41 cases in Carlow, 47 cases in Wexford, we're just sending the message out that there are a wide number of counties where we’re seeing significant substantial numbers of cases.
"That’s not to say we’re contemplating anything in those counties, but it is a message to people in those counties in particular to take extra care and follow the guidance."
