37 people with covid-19 are being treated in midalnds hospitals.
The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has gone above 600 for the first time in over a month.
619 patients with the virus are being treated - with 148 admissions since yesterday - and 88 in intensive care.
37 of those patients are in midlands hospitals - with four in ICU.
It comes as the Chief Medical Officer urges people to avoid crowded shops due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
Dr. Tony Holohan says the strain is accelerating rapidly - and that everyone should consider themselves potentially infectious.
Just under 16,500 cases were confirmed yesterday - the highest figure since the pandemic started.
Infectious diseases consultant, Dr Eoghan de Barra, says the true scale of infections isn't known:
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