The Chief Medical Officer has warned that people are taking too long to go for a Covid-19 test after they feel symptoms of the virus.
Dr Tony Holohan tonight urged people to contact their GP immediately if they're showing symptoms of the virus, after another 2,371 cases were confirmed by public health chiefs – as well as 52 more tragic deaths.
He said more than a third of people are taking at least four days to contact their doctor, and pleaded with people not to put off going for a test.
"The ‘COVID-19 find-test-trace-isolate’ process is vital to our efforts," he said.
"Our data is telling us that for a third of people, it’s four days or more from the time they first experience symptoms of COVID-19 to the time they get tested.
"We all need to contact our GP as soon as symptoms occur, so we can trace our contacts and prevent further infections."
Ahead of the weekend, Dr Holohan also urged the public to "stay the course" when it comes to washing hands, wearing face masks and keeping a two-metre distance from other people.
He added: "We know that the ongoing restrictions are very challenging for people but, through the hard work and sacrifice of the vast majority of people, we are starting to see the first signs of a lower prevalence of the disease in the population.
"Strictly adhering to the public health measures is the key to making real progress in terms of flattening the curve and lowering the current trends in our hospitals and ICUs.
"In order to take care of each other, we need all to stay at home, except for essential reasons, to minimise the spread of COVID-19 to ourselves and our loved ones."
Tonight's figures brought the overall number of coronavirus-related deaths in Ireland to 2,870 since the pandemic began.
There have now been 184,279 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country.
