The imposition of further Covid restrictions in the coming weeks is not being ruled out ahead of crunch NPHET talks.
Top public health officials will meet on Thursday to discuss the ongoing situation with the virus in light of the threat posed by the Omicron variant.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan confirmed on Monday that 11% of cases in Ireland are now due to the new strain.
There was a ten-fold increase in Omicron infections in the space of the week, with 18 cases identified here so far.
It comes as 4,688 further Covid-19 cases were reported on Monday, with Dr Holohan stating that evidence shows the new variant is more transmissible than previous strains.
He said: "Possible Omicron cases can be identified by the number of PCR results with 'S gene target failure' - just as we did when the Alpha variant emerged a year ago. Using this methodology, we estimate that 11% of cases are now due to the Omicron variant, an increase from less than 1% only one week ago.
“While evidence on disease severity and immune escape is still emerging, it is clear this variant is more transmissible. We are hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.
“Over the coming days and weeks global health authorities will learn more about this variant and the risks it poses. In the meantime, we continue to have confidence in the basic measures to reduce transmission.”
He advised people to continue to adhere to public health measures, such as social distancing, working from home, using face masks, washing hands, isolating if showing symptoms, and avoiding crowds.
The CMO will convene with other NPHET members on Thursday, with the team expected to advocate for the imposition of further Covid rules.
Additional restrictions are also not being ruled out by senior Ministers.
Coalition leader and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said further restrictions could not be ruled out as he encouraged people to avail of their booster vaccine.
The HSE and the Government are expected to publish a fresh Covid-19 booster programme this week in a bid to get 1.5 million people boosted with a third dose before Christmas.
Minister Ryan told RTE: “Government will be looking at a plan this week to step up our booster campaign.
“I think that’s the first best, most important reaction and response and we need to do that in response to the Delta wave which is here anyway.
“We still have 4,000 plus cases a day so that use of the booster vaccine to protect against that is needed in any case regardless of Omicron.
“Any further measures, we’ll continue to look at that with our health authorities.
“I don’t think we can rule anything out but at the same time, what we have seen that will give some hope is the numbers in our hospitals have stabilised in the last number of weeks.
“We want to keep that going and that’s one of the metrics we’ll have to use - watch to see what’s happening to our health system.”
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