The secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has urged Stephen Donnelly to declare a "national emergency" - as over 650 people are waiting on a hospital trolley this morning.
That's one of the highest numbers since the pandemic began, with wards all over the country being affected.
Several hospitals throughout Ireland have put in place visiting bans as Covid spikes, with high case numbers as a result of people entering hospitals for other procedures and catching it while in them.
