The chief medical officer is again appealing to people to follow the public health advice in relation to COVID-19.

Dr Tony Holohan made his comments on Tuesday evening after 811 more cases of the virus were confirmed, along with three more deaths.

There have now been 44,159 cases and 1,830 deaths here.

Of the 811 cases, 190 occurred in Dublin, 141 in Cork, 62 in Wexford, 51 in Kerry and 50 in Clare.

"We have widespread community transmission in the country. The spread of COVID-19 is a whole population issue, which is why we're appealing to every single individual, every single family, household, organisation, workplace, to act on public health advice. You are the frontline defence against this disease," Dr Holohan said.

In the 14 days up to midnight on October 12, over 8,400 new cases were confirmed.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population up to midnight on October 12 shows that the national incidence rate was 177.2, however some counties were well above this. The highest incidence rate was found in Cavan (412.2), followed by Donegal (354.9), Monaghan (312.8), Clare (303) and Meath (213.8).

The lowest 14-day incidence rate was found in Waterford (66.3), followed by Carlow (75.5) and Tipperary (77.7).

According to the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, if community transmission patterns continue to grow, "we are going to see more vulnerable groups being infected".

"The result of that, unfortunately, will be further hospitalisations and deaths. Limiting your contacts, avoiding crowds and following basic public health measures will ultimately save lives," he commented.

The entire country is now in level 3 of the Government's COVID plan. For more information on this, click here.