Taoiseach Micheal Martin has warned people not to let their guard down as Ireland hits one week into lockdown.
The Fiann Fail leader announced little over a week ago that the whole country would be entering a six week lockdown - with encouraging signs so far.
And now the Taoiseach is asking people to keep following the rules and Ireland can suppress the virus.
Mr Martin said: "We can not, and we must not let our guard down.
"We must continue to protect the vulnerable people and work individually and collectively to lower the rate of infection.
"I'm under no illusions about the challenge posed by this part of the plan. I know that we are asking a lot of people.
"Not just in the current Level 5 phase, but throughout the pandemic, the strain on people's patience and the impact on their personal lives has been immense."
The Taoiseach added that the cases at the end of November will decide what kind of Christmas Ireland has.
Mr Martin said it's "far too early" to say if lockdown is working just yet and it's just a matter of getting cases "really down low".
In encouraging news, today’s hospital figures show there are 318 Covid-19 patients in Ireland’s hospitals.
Yesterday, that figure was 327 and the day before it was 354.
