The Health Minister is expected to update senior ministers later this morning on the overcrowding issues facing Irish hospitals.
It comes after the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation counted 931 people on trolleys yesterday, a new record.
Minister Stephen Donnelly says despite calls from the INMO to reintroduce a mask mandate, public health advice is unlikely to change.
However he admits the wave of flu infections is expected to get worse, before it gets better:
Elsewhere, passengers arriving into the EU from China may soon face some form of travel restrictions.
European health officials are meeting in emergency session in Brussels today to sign off on an EU wide coordinated approach to a rise in Covid cases.
Member states are likely to be told to increase surveillance while pre-departure testing may be implemented for those arriving into Europe from China.
There's been a sharp rise in infections since Beijing lifted its zero Covid policy which has seen Chinese residents grounded since 2019.
