The HSE's Chief Clinical Officer said there had been an extraordinary growth in Covid-19 over the past week - beyond even the worst case predictions - and all disease indicators are deteriorating.
Dr Colm Henry said there had been an increase in cases across all ages. Speaking earlier on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said it is inevitable that the disease will seep out from younger age groups into the older age groups, hospital settings and nursing homes where it can "cause havoc, disease and worse".
Right now, he said, the hospital system is stable but we only have to look at the experience of our neighbours in Europe to see how fragile the well-developed healthcare systems are in the face of this virus.