There is further concern after a new Covid record was set today with confirmation of 26,122 new cases of the virus.
The previous record high was on January 6th at 23,817 cases.
There are currently 917 people in hospital with 83 of these in hospital.
It comes as children aged between five and 11 who have been registered with the Health Service Executive will be offered an appointment for their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine from today.
Registration for this cohort opened on Monday.
The vaccination programme is already under way with children who have a health condition that puts them at risk of severe illness from the virus or live with someone who is at higher risk from Covid-19.
