Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said it is "too early" to predict when Ireland will exit Level 5 lockdown as he revealed COVID-19 cases and close contacts are on the rise in Dublin.
Minister Donnelly met with Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, on Thursday to review the concerning rise in the capital.
"Close contacts are going up again, not a lot, but they are going back up again," he told RTE's This Week.
"Positivity rates remain high, particularly among close contacts. The percentage of new cases coming from Dublin is rising.
"We think there is more opportunity in terms of workplaces to help people to add extra protections as well.
"It's far too early given all of that to give accurate predictions."
The Wicklow TD added that numbers much come down "much more" before the Government will consider coming out of the strictest level of lockdown, which has been in place since early this year.
He added that he still believed it was possible to have the whole country vaccinated by September provided that supplies of vaccines are delivered on time.
The Minister also said it was "unacceptable" that some GPs are refusing to administer the vaccine to their patients, saying anyone who finds themselves in this situation can contact the HSE helpline to find an alternative doctor.
He said: "I don't believe anyone in the country should be denied a vaccine by their GP.
"I don't think that’s acceptable at all."
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