Thousands more people will stay at home from work today after new restrictions on the retail sector.
Factories and construction sites remain open, but are being asked to put in place measures to allow social distancing.
The new restrictions - which were announced yesterday afternoon - mean all non-essential shops should be closed from today.
Those remaining open include food shops, pharmacies and hardware stores.
Construction sites where safe distancing cannot be practicsed are being advised to close.
However, there has been some criticism of the decision to keep construction sites and factories open - with some parties saying it means many people will be heading into potentially dangerous workplaces this morning.
Speaking to Breakfast Briefing, Labour's employment spokesperson Ged Nash observed: "If you're working on a site, it's all about teamwork and cooperation... particularly if you're working on a major building site.
"If you're installing huge window panes, door frames and so on, you can't do that on your own.
"You require the cooperation of colleagues, and you're working in very close quarters for intense periods of time... and there are serious risks involved with that."
Trade unions
Meanwhile, trade union Forsa says workers should talk to their boss to decide if they're an "non-essential worker" or not.
The union has joined SIPTU and ICTU in welcoming a scheme to guarantee up to 70% of salaries at firms hit by the pandemic.
However, it wants the government to be clearer about what workers are being told to work from home.
Forsa spokesman Bernard Harbor is urging people to discuss their own status with their employer.
He said: "Whether or not you go to work is not the same decision as going to the park or whether you don't go to the park.
"You need to have your employer's sanction that you're not an essential worker or that you can work from home.
"We're advising people to get that sanction from the employer before they make a unilateral decision not to turn in."
Government formation talks
Elsewhere, efforts to form a new government will continue today.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will meet to exchange policy papers.
The coronavirus crisis has changed the nature of these talks.
On one hand all sides know it is not ideal to have an interim government making major decisions on behalf of the country.
On the other, the decisions being made need to be made now and are largely above politics.
Either way, there is now an expectation that negotiations between the two parties need to speed up.
