Forty new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed and one further death has been announced this evening.
It takes the death toll in Ireland to 1,774 and the total number of confirmed cases to 26,838.
The acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said 13 of the new cases were transmitted in the community while 19 are associated with outbreaks or contact with previously confirmed cases.
Three quarters of the new cases are in people under the age of 45.
Twelve of the new cases are in Dublin and 11 are in Kildare and seven are in Offaly.
The rest are in Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Meath, Roscommon, Tipperary, Wicklow.
Over 32,000 COVId-19 tests have been carried out in the past week – with 1.7% of them coming back positive.
Professor Philip Nolan, the chair of NPHET's modelling group, said the recent trends are very concerning.
“We are in a situation where over the last two weeks we have seen a very sharp increase in the number of cases being reported per day with a spike a few days ago – 174 cases.
“That means this Wednesday, looking back five days, the average number of new cases reported per day was 75.
“That is a very significant increase on the period between June and July.”
He said that while today’s figures are relatively low compared to recent days, it is “important that we remember that this is a long game” and that the 12-day and five-day averages provide a clearer picture.
“We know that COVID-19 transmits when people come into close contact with one another,” he said.
“When we ask you to follow public health measures and adhere to public health advice, it is with the sole aim of limiting this disease’s opportunity to spread through this close contact.
“It’s important that everyone in Ireland knows the things they can do in their own communities to help.”
Professor Nolan said the reproductive number of the virus now stands at 1.6.
He also warned that the increase in clusters is not limited to the three countries that have been placed under lockdown – Kildare, Laois and Offaly.
