The World Health Organisation is urging the Irish public to take immediate action to reduce the chance of another lockdown.
Dr David Nabarro, the W-H-O’s special envoy on Covid, says the big increase is a cause of concern.
The five-day moving average of Covid cases has increased by 59% in the past 10 days.
It now stands 3,440 – compared to 2,165 on October 29th.
Carlow has been tops of the table for some time when it comes to the rate of confirmations per population, while Kilkenny’s back among the lower counties.
Six patients with the virus are being treated at St Luke’s General Hospital for Carlow and Kilkenny after two discharges and two new admissions, none of them needing intensive care.