Galway Bay fm newsroom - Cabinet is meeting to discuss a potential move to Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions.
A ban on inter-county travel from St Stephen's Day is among the proposals as well as the closure of restaurants and pubs from Christmas Eve.
Last night, the Chief Medical Officer advised people to stay at home as much as they can and limit their contacts over the coming days to protect elderly and vulnerable relatives.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says the country is in a very serious situation, with health professionals extremely concerned over the rapid increase in cases and the potential of a new faster-spreading strain of the virus.
Meanwhile, health officials say there could be over a thousand cases of Covid-19 by next Wednesday based on the current trends.
It's estimated the reproduction rate has risen to between 1.5 and 1.6 while the estimated 14 day incidence has increased to 122 per 100 thousand.
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of NPHET's modelling advisory group, says the country has "clearly" entered a third wave, and warned that at this rate, we could have 1,800 cases a day by the 6th of January.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan has urged people to stop socialising and to rethink their Christmas plans....
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