Visitor restrictions remain in place in a number of hospitals around the country today as medical teams struggle to contain the winter vomiting virus.
In Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, there were 28 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 73.
A hospital spokesman told ireland.comall but two of the hospital's 19 wards were affected. Forty of the hospital's 630 beds are out of use. Since the virus outbreak seven weeks ago, Beaumont has cancelled nearly 900 procedures.
The virus is taking a heavy toll on staff, the spokesman said. He said there was no vaccination or treatment for the virus because it was constantly mutating and altering.
However, the bug - also known as the small round structured virus (SRSV) - is "self-limiting", and symptoms pass within about 48 hours.
The National Virus Reference Laboratory said more than 6,620 samples have been tested by staff this year. Some 1,845 people were confirmed as having the winter vomiting bug.
Tallaght Hospital in Dublin had one confirmed case in the past 24 hours and one ward remains closed to new admissions.
Outside the capital, Waterford Regional Hospital is still reporting new cases with 177 people suspected of having the virus. It has closed two wards and admissions are severely restricted.
Visitor restrictions remain in place in 11 hospitals and Day Care Centres in the Mid-western Health Board. However, the health board has not recorded any new cases since October.
Louth County Hospital in Dundalk is the only hospital in the northeast region which has confirmed cases of the virus. It has two confirmed and three suspected cases.
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