A further 611 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, as well as five more deaths.

There have now been 39,584 cases and 1,816 deaths in the Republic of Ireland.

Of the 611 cases, 218 occurred in Dublin, 63 in Cork, 60 in Donegal, 35 in Galway and 31 in Kildare.

According to the chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, "all key indicators of the disease have deteriorated further in the three days since the last meeting of NPHET on Sunday, October 4".

"COVID-19 is spreading in our community in a very worrying manner. We have to break these chains of transmission."

"Eighty COVID-19 cases were hospitalised in August, 206 in September and 77 so far in October. On August, four COVID-19-related deaths in total were reported, 34 in September and today on October 7, we report eight COVID-19-related deaths this month," he noted.

According to the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, "trends in case numbers and incidence are now being reflected in indicators of disease severity".

"The number of people in hospital has increased from 122 last Thursday to 156 this afternoon. There are currently 25 people in critical care compared to 20 one week ago," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, according to Prof Philip Nolan, chair of NPHET's Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, cases numbers and hospitalisations "are growing exponentially".

"The reproductive (R) number is now estimated at 1.2. If we fail to reduce viral transmission nationwide immediately, we could see 1,100 - 1,500 cases per day and 300-450 people in hospital by November ," he said.

Consultant psychiatrist and HSE integrated care lead, Dr Siobhan Ni Bhriain, noted that currently, the average length of stay in hospital of a COVID-19 patient is 20 days, and 14 days in ICU.

"I urge everyone to remind themselves of what they can do on an individual level to suppress the virus and prevent a surge on hospital demands.

"ICU is the last stop in the care pathway for any illness. Focus on prevention and follow public health advice to ensure care pathways are available to as many people as possible," she said.

The entire country is now at level 3 of the Government's COVID-19 action plan. For more information on this, click here.