Ireland is expected to move to its third full-scale lockdown on Thursday.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called an emergency Cabinet meeting for this morning, where Ministers are set to agree on bringing the country to a full Level Five.
It comes after Dr Tony Holohan and the National Public Health Emergency Team issued a stark warning to Government over the spiralling number of cases, which are only expected to get worse due to a backlog over the Christmas period.
The Chief Medical Officer wants the country to re-enter a full Level Five, like the one endured in the six weeks prior to December.
There are growing concerns about the number of patients battling the disease in hospital, which has essentially doubled to 411 over the past week.
Despite Ireland technically moving to Level Five last week, Government allowed some changes to keep society going.
Non-essential retail was kept open in order to let everyone finish their Christmas shopping, while certain sports remained for physical and mental health purposes.
But in a drastic u-turn, shops, gyms, leisure centres, golf and tennis could all be stopped yet again.
Micheal Martin is expected to address the nation after today's Cabinet meeting, where he will outline the Government's latest plan and reasons for implementing it.
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