Top doc Ronan Glynn has given a two-word warning to Dubliners as he fears that the current restrictions in the capital will soon become a national issue.
The Acting Chief Medical Officers confirmed on Wednesday that of the 429 new cases, 189 were in Dublin.
He said it was up to the whole country to step up to the plate but warned that Dublin especially was continuing to go in the "wrong direction".
Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Dr Glynn said: "We can see from mobility data that traffic volumes in Dublin, when we compare it to last January, are down about 20%.
"But in the context of level three, and in the context of the numbers that we're seeing, that is simply not enough.
"It really is time for every employer, for every organisation, for every sports organisation, for anything that someone is involved in, if you can reduce contacts, if there are discretionary activities that do not need to happen at this moment, then please postpone them."
He warned: "This is going in the wrong direction and it is becoming a national issue.
"I would liken it to a forest fire where we're seeing lots of embers, lots of small issues arising in different places around the country.
"And if this continues, we're going to have a national issue."
There was some positives from the briefing as the R number is slightly down nationwide with Dublin presumed to be at the bottom end of that scale.
“The R number is now between 1.2 and 1.4," Professor Nolan said.
"While we are cautiously optimistic about Dublin, we have seen relatively high case numbers in the last few days, and it will be a number of days yet before the pattern is clear.
"Case numbers are clearly rising across the country.
"We need to remain vigilant, to ensure we do not lose the ground that we have gained across the capital city since we moved to Level 3, and to ensure we do not see further deterioration outside the capital.”
