Ireland is well into the second Omicron wave as thousands of people test positive each day, including a number of government officials.
Health experts have insisted there is no need for the introduction of new restrictions, but are recommending common sense when it comes to social distancing and wearing masks.
The HSE warned on Thursday that health services are struggling due to the number of patients needing care and the level of staff absences due to infection.
While many isolate at home, the Covid Illness Benefit remains open to anyone who can provide proof of infection in one of two ways.
It is only available to those who are unable to work due to being diagnosed with the virus, however, there are also some exceptions to this.
As of February 28, if a person is deemed a close contact of a positive case but is asymptomatic, they are no longer eligible for the payment.
It is still there for employees or self-employed people who are unable to carry out their daily work due to:
A diagnosis of Covid-19; or
An instruction by a doctor or the HSE to self-isolate or restrict their movements
The support is payable on a daily basis, excluding Sundays, and is for a maximum of 7 days.
Where a person has a Covid diagnosis they may be paid for up to 10 weeks - at a rate of €350 a week - with appropriate medical certification from their GP.
In order to be accepted onto the payment, you will need to show proof of:
A text from the HSE confirming your positive PCR test result
A text from the HSE confirming your positive antigen test submission
A picture of a positive antigen test is not accepted as medical evidence.
According to the latest update released on Thursday afternoon, there were 8,910 PCR-confirmed cases over a 24-hour period.
In addition to this, 14,215 people registered positive antigen tests through the HSE portal - marking a total of 23,125.
As of 8:00 am that day, 1,425 COVID-19 patients were hospitalised with severe side effects of the virus - marking an increase of 30 people on the day before.
Of this number, 53 people were receiving treatment in ICUs across Ireland.
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