Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said that despite the high numbers of Covid cases, current public health advice has not changed.
Speaking on his way into government buildings on Tuesday, he urged people to continue following public protocol and asked those who are yet to receive their booster vaccine to do so.
Mr Donnelly said: "The public health advice that I have from the Chief Medical Officer, from the Department of Health, consistently over the last several weeks has been that whilst we need to continue to follow the protocol public health advice it's really important that those who haven't been boosted yet get their boosters. There's no consideration of bringing in new measures."
The minister acknowledged that the health system is under severe pressure but also said that the figure of patients currently in critical care needs to be examined.
He said: "The hospital system is under severe pressure. As we know, there is an increasing number of patients with covid in hospital. What we are also looking at, however, is critical care, and when you look at the critical care figures, about half the patients in critical care are in critical care because of Covid and about half… of them have been boosted.
"So, when you look at the numbers who are in critical care because of Covid and who have had their booster vaccine, it's likely in the late teens. So obviously a very, very serious situation for them, and our thoughts are very much with them and with their families, but by international standards, it's still quite a low level."
Mr Donnelly said the best thing members of the public could do to alleviate pressure on the health system is to get their booster and noted that many people who contracted the virus over the Christmas period would now be eligible to apply.
He said: "There are things, however, that people really can do to help take the pressure off the hospital system. Probably the single most important is for those who haven't had their booster vaccine to get boosted.
"We think right now there are about 700,000 people who've had their first two vaccines but haven't yet had their booster. Now, a lot of those are younger people who got Covid, who might have maybe got the omicron variant. A lot of them are now coming up to the three month period when they're eligible again.
"So my message to anyone who had their two vaccines and is yet to get the booster, please do so. You can book it online, in one of the vaccine centres, through hse.ie or indeed you can go into an awful lot of chemists, and they can schedule it for you."
Taoiseach Micheal Martin echoed Mr Donnelly's point, saying: "I would appeal to people who have not yet received their booster vaccine to please get your booster vaccine because the vaccine is the ultimate protection against serious illness, admission to hospital and ultimately to ICU. So that's vital."
READ MORE: Symptoms of rampant BA.2 variant, NPHET replacement and restrictions update
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.
