The Chief Medical Officer has warned that everyone must stop "discretionary socialising" as Ireland's incidence rate hit 190.7 on Wednesday.
Dr Tony Holohan was speaking after a staggering 1,095 new cases and five more deaths were announced.
And talking about the worrying spike, he warned that everyone must play their part to help drive down the rapidly spreading virus.
He said: “Today, we again report a daily new confirmed case figure over 1,000. This situation is extremely concerning.
"Every single one of us has a role to play.
“We each need to reduce contact with other people as much as possible, so that means staying at home, working from home where possible, practicing physical distancing and stopping discretionary socialising.”
There are now 45,243 confirmed cases in the Republic, along with 1,835 deaths.
As of 2pm, 232 patients are in hospital, 30 of which are in ICU.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn added: “People must now make choices. Stop meeting up in groups, stop socialising, stop organising play dates, parties and other social activities.
"People must recognise that the disease is a direct threat to themselves and their families. Now is the time for each of us to act.”
Of the cases notified today;
- 529 are men / 552 are women
- 70% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 31 years old
- 246 in Dublin, 185 in Meath,128 in Cavan, 118 in Cork, 63 in Kildare and the remaining 342 cases are spread across all remaining counties.
