The latest Covid figures have been released.
46 additional Covid-19 deaths have been confirmed, as well as 3,086 new cases.
44 of these deaths occurred this month, with two of them taking place in December.
There has now been a total of 2,397 Covid-related deaths in Ireland, while 155,591 people have tested positive.
This is the most deaths confirmed on a single day since 28 April of last year.
604 of toady's cases are in Galway, with 574 in Dublin, 466 in Mayo, 187 in Cork, 138 in Limerick and the remaining 1,117 cases are spread across all other counties.
Speaking on Tuesday, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said: "Unfortunately this evening we are seeing the effect of the recent surge of infections reflected in the increased mortality we are reporting.
"Unfortunately, due to the unsustainably high level of Covid infection we have experienced as a country over the past few weeks, sadly these figures are likely to continue for the next period of time.
"What we can do today, out of respect of those who have lost their lives and those currently in hospital or ICU - and those caring for them - is to hold firm and stay home."
Ronan Glynn said: "
At least one in three patients admitted to hospital or critical care in January have been under the age of 65 years. This clearly demonstrates that Covid affects us all, regardless of age or underlying condition.
"It highlights the need for us all to protect one another by staying at home. Not only will you keep yourself and your loved ones safe, but also help avoid more preventable Covid admissions to our currently struggling healthcare system."
This comes on the same week that it emerged that
Ireland officially has the highest daily Covid-19 rate in the world.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Northern Ireland Department of Health reported that a further 1,205 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
Sadly, a further 22 deaths have also been reported up north (though four of these deaths occurred outside the 24 hour period).
