The Cabinet will consider covid measures including working from home, when it meets this morning.
Last night the cabinet sub-committee heard up to 500 people with Covid could require ICU admission by next month, under a worst-case scenario, in new NPHET modelling.
622 people are in hospital with the virus, with 117 being treated in intensive care.
Ministers will consider the need for Covid certs to access gyms, hairdressers and barbers, the wider use of antigen testing and a booster programme for those aged 50 and over.
Consultant in Infectious Diseases in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Dr Eoghan DeBarra, says no one intervention will bring infections down:
"What we're looking for here is a suite of interventions that's going to start to bring the case numbers down and take pressures off hospitals. There isn't a single part of society or the puzzle that's going to be the answer. I presume what they're trying to do is target areas where there isn't much compliance at the moment. Unfortunately I think it's going to require a bigger intervention to try to control this."
