The National Public Health Emergency Team has once again recommended the entire country move to level five restrictions.
Public health officials have said the covid-19 lockdown should last for six weeks.
The Taoiseach says the government are giving moving the advice "very active consideration."
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar & Green Party leader Eamon Ryan will meet tomorrow with the Finance & Public Expenditure Ministers Donohoe & McGrath to discuss the recommendation.
Tanaise Leo Varadkar says he wasn't surprised to hear NPHET's advice:
Tanaiste says NPHET’s second level 5 recommendation has not caught him by surprise pic.twitter.com/2NPh6IwuLk
— Kacey O'Riordan (@KaceyORiordan) October 16, 2020
The National Public Health Emergency Team has previously recommended the country move to level 5 restrictions.
However the government opted to move all counties to level 3 instead.
The latest recommendation comes one day after a record-high 1,205 new cases were reported.
Government sources indicated they would take the weekend to consider the situation, the impact of level five and whether in light of a further worsening of the situation that it's warranted.
That would indicate a cabinet decision on the issue on either Monday or Tuesday.
A number of Ministers also want to get out of the cycle of having new announcements every few days which they admit is very draining for people.
They also want to give level three restrictions a further chance to work - given it's been less than two weeks since they were implemented.
*Reporting by Sean Defoe
