The acting Health Minister Simon Harris says a decision on St Patrick's Day parades will be made in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Some 21 people here now have the coronavirus.
Two new cases were confirmed last night, which include a woman in the east of the country and a man in the south of the country.
The man is a patient at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork.
The hospital says the patient is being cared for in a single room and contact precautions have been in place since his arrival.
Minister Harris says a decision on this year's St Patrick's celebrations will be made shortly.
"I think it's fair to say we've shown a willingness to cancel big events when the advice has told us so, including the series of rugby matches that were due to go ahead."
"I think it would be important that there's clarity within those next 24 to 48 hours one way or the other".
On the topic of cancelling flights from hotspots in Italy, he said this would be ineffective.
"Public health experts have said to me that acting unilaterally on this simply wouldn't be effective.
"If you actually banned a flight coming from northern Italy it might look like you're taking action - but the reality of the situation is people could just take a train to northern France and fly from there".
A new Cabinet subcommittee will meet later to discuss the outbreak.
