The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital has risen above 800.
It's the first time the number has risen above 800 since mid-February 2021.
As of 8am this morning, there were 804 patients with the virus being treated in Irish hospitals.
That's up from 717 yesterday morning, and up from 462 a week ago.
While hospital numbers often rise over the weekend due to delayed discharges, there has also been a sharp increase in the number of patients in hospital over the last week.
Just under 400 patients were being treated in hospital on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
However, that number has now doubled over the last ten days or so, alongside record daily case numbers.
Latest HSE figures show there were 124 new hospital admissions in the last 24 hours, with just 30 discharges.
Data released last night showed the Mater Hospital had the most COVID-19 patients (57), followed by Tallaght (56), Letterkenny (54), Beaumont (51) and Drogheda (50).
Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Irish hospitals as of 8pm last nightICU numbers have so far remained stable, with 87 people with COVID-19 currently receiving intensive care.
Last week, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said "over 90% of people in hospital and intensive care with COVID-19 are there for the management of COVID-19".
He said less than 5% of the people in hospital with the virus have 'incidental' - asymptomatic or non-infectious - disease.
The INMO, meanwhile, has warned that Irish hospitals are at breaking point and ‘can’t cope’ with the current level of pressure - due to both staff absences and growing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
