Dr Tony Holohan has issued a warning and shared a message to younger people as the Delta variant continues to surge.
Covid-19 cases are rising across the country as Ireland saw 631 further infections confirmed last night.
The Chief Medical Officer explained that this was the highest since April, and highlighted it as a "cause for concern".
He also told young people to "hold firm" as they wait to receive their vaccination, with the youngest adults not expected to be fully vaccinated until September at the earliest.
Dr Holohan said: “Today we are reporting over 600 confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the first time since late April. This is a cause of concern and shows that this disease is prevalent in our communities again.
“We know there is worry and frustration out there, particularly for young people who have had significant parts of their lives put on hold by this disease. We ask if you are not yet vaccinated, to hold firm to the public health advice as you await your vaccine.
"Please continue to manage your contacts, meet outdoors and avoid crowds."
The CMO adds: “If you experience symptoms of COVID-19 or have any concerns, please isolate and seek a free PCR test as soon as possible. If you are not yet fully vaccinated and a close contact of a person that has tested positive for COVID-19, you also need to isolate and get a free PCR test.”
The latest figures were confirmed by the Department of Health on Friday evening.
Speaking on Friday afternoon, the CEO of the HSE, Paul Reid, said that 54% of Ireland's adult population are now vaccinated.
In a spot online, he said: Some good news for a Friday. Another day yesterday of over 58,000 vaccinations administered & over 221,000 in the first 4 days of this week. Now over 54% of the adult population are fully vaccinated. Thankfully Covidpatients in hospitals reduced to 50 this morning."
During a recent interview on Prime Time, Mr Reid said that health authorities are hoping that herd immunity in the country can be achieved if 80% of Ireland's population are vaccinated.
However, Reid also issued a warning with regards to the Delta variant because he's fearful that the new variant will lead to a surge in new cases at a rate that's faster than Ireland's ability to administer vaccine jabs.
He said: "We hope to have 64% of the population fully vaccinated by the end of this month and about 74-75% by the end of August. We are on a really good trajectory of protecting public health but there is this figure of 80% of the population that we want to get of the adult population fully vaccinated where you have herd immunity.
