A further 40 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed with one more death in the Republic of Ireland.
The latest update was given by Dr Ronan Glynn and the Department of Health ahead of an NPHET briefing on the virus situation on Wednesday evening.
Kildare, Laois and Offaly remain in a mini-lockdown since Friday with experts stressing it will be next week before the impact of the lockdown will be seen in cases.
Stephen Donnelly believes other counties may experience the reintroduction of restrictions currently seen in Kildare, Offaly and Laois.
The Fianna Fail TD defended the decision to reimpose lockdown measures in these counties and warned "we could have been right back to the start again" if the Government didn't step in.
He said: "I really believe that the measures that the public health doctors recommended for Kildare, Laois and Offaly are very nuanced.
"It is entirely possible yeah (that we introduce those measures again). I think what Laois, Kildare and Offaly have shown is just how quickly this virus can spread and the need for us to react to it quickly.
