NPHET says there's a possibility Covid-19 case numbers may be starting to level off.
A further 6,521 new cases were confirmed last night and 10 further deaths.
184 new cases were reported in Galway yesterday, 119 in Mayo, 85 in Sligo, 31 in Roscommon and 13 in Leitrim.
The reproduction number is now between 2.4 and 3 - and health officials are concerned the UK variant is playing a bigger role in transmission.
The worst-case scenario is daily infections levelling off at 8 thousand and falling to a low of 2,500 later this month.
But Professor Philip Nolan, chair of NPHET's modelling advisory group, says the situation could be better than that if people redouble their efforts to suppress the virus.
