The chief executive of the HSE, Paul Reid, has urged people to "really protect themselves" from Covid-19 in the next two weeks to avoid an "explosive concoction" for the health service in January.
He said the best Christmas present the public could give healthcare staff is to reduce their social contacts and follow all the public health measures.
Mr Reid said the HSE is seeing "very significant and concerning" trends of the virus with an increase each day in the last week in positive tests. "We want people to look forward to Christmas in a spirit of joy," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland but warned that the "lag effect is of concern here ...