There have been 1,754 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in the Republic.
Eleven further deaths have also been reported.
More than 9,000 additional new cases are expected to be reported over the coming days, due to delays in reporting caused by the “very large” number of positive tests in recent days.
Today’s new cases include 523 in Dublin, 296 in Cork, 180 in Galway, 104 in Mayo, 94 in Kerry and the remaining 557 cases spread across all other counties.
As of this afternoon, there were 504 COVID-19 patients in Irish hospitals - including 47 in intensive care.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the health system cannot continue to cope with the current level of pressure - and he urged people to follow the current coronavirus guidelines.
He also said the testing and reporting system is continuing to catch up with delays from Christmas - including as a result of those who didn’t come forward for testing over the Christmas period.
He said: "As our systems catch up with these effects it places significant pressure on our reporting system.
“We have always understood that numbers of positive tests or confirmed cases would be a less reliable indicator over the Christmas period.”
“The most concerning trend at present is the rapidly increasing number of people being admitted to hospital - we are now admitting between 50 – 70 people a day to our hospital system. Unfortunately, we expect this to get worse before it gets better."@CMOIreland #StayHome
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) January 1, 2021
