The owner of a nursing home in Co Laois has appealed for staff, saying her workers are "pulling out all the stops" to care for residents.
It comes as Health Minister Simon Harris is meeting Nursing Homes Ireland and HIQA to discuss the spread of COVID-19 in care settings.
New guidelines will also be published for nursing homes to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Valerie Moore is the general manager of Oakdale Nursing Home in Portarlington, Co Laois.
She told Newstalk Breakfast two workers have tested positive for the virus.
"For us at the moment you might know that we have experienced an acute shortage of staff for various, genuine reasons.
"We had two staff tested positive for COVID and we have other staff with healthcare reasons that they're at home for.
"So we're really desperately short of staff, and everybody is pulling out all the stops to do everything they can.
"Everybody's doubling their shifts, they're working from early in the morning till late at night.
"The residents for us are family - we love them, they love us - and that brings with it really good care.
"And at the minute we're on skeletal levels of staff, but we are managing to manage their care needs very well.
"But it's desperate times and that's why I'm really appealing for staff.
"Since yesterday I've actually a good few CVs in and it's great, it's good news".
She says a number of rooms in the home are also being used as an isolation unit, which they had planned for as a contingency.
