A number of counties have seen a spike in new coronavirus cases over the last few days as Level Four restrictions loom.
Monaghan, Cavan and Donegal were the three counties moved to Level Four last night after a surge in cases over the last 14 days.
One of the key statistics used by health officials to measure the scale of an outbreak is the incidence rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 population.
And by this metric Cavan is now the hardest-hit area in the country, with a staggering rate of 571.0.
This is followed by the other two counties on Level Four, Monaghan, at 360.0, and Donegal, at 353.7.
However last night Tanaiste Leo Varadkar admitted it is likely other counties will face Level Four lockdown restrictions.
Mr Varadkar added that community transmission was now “widespread” across all counties.
And there are now four other counties reporting an incidence over 200: Clare (307.2), Meath (299.9), Cork (209.4) and Sligo (207.5).
Other areas that have shown concerning trends include Limerick (192.4), Roscommon (189.0), Kildare (188.3) and Dublin (185.4).
Here are the latest incidence rates for every county in Ireland:
Cavan - 571.0
Monaghan - 360.0
Donegal - 353.7
Clare - 307.2
Meath - 299.9
Cork - 209.4
Sligo - 207.5
Limerick - 192.4
Roscommon - 189.0
Kildare - 188.3
Dublin - 185.4
Longford - 181.0
Wexford - 174.3
Galway - 174.0
Westmeath - 171.2
Louth - 153.6
Kerry - 153.0
Leitrim - 146.7
Offaly - 142.4
