A jump in new Covid-19 cases is threatening plans to reopen thousands of pubs next week.
Health chiefs reported 32 new cases of the virus on Tuesday night - the highest for several days.
It brings the last five-day average of new infections to 21.
The five-day rate is one of the key metric’s being tracked by the National Public Health Emergency Team ahead of a decision on entering Phase 4 of reopening the country.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn told the Irish Mirror he was concerned about the number on Monday.
It will be watched closely up until a NPHET decision on Thursday which will also review the reproduction number which is currently at or above 1.
There were no new deaths added to the 1,746 who have lost their lives so far.
There is now a total of 25,670 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
NPHET revealed 523,277 tests have been carried out with 49,264 in the last week alone. Of those 157 were positive - just 0.3%.
Coming forward quickly with symptoms is vital at this point in the virus battle, Dr Glynn said.
“Knowing the symptoms of Covid-19 and making contact with your GP immediately is a crucial component to us identifying and containing this disease,” he added.
“Symptoms associated with Covid-19 can be similar to other common ailments. I would urge anyone experiencing symptoms to assume it is Covid-19, in the first instance, until a GP or test tells you otherwise.
“Keep informed on symptoms and updates on Covid-19 in the community using reputable sites such as hse.ie and gov.ie/health.”
