The Covid 19 incidence rates in Cavan and Monaghan will "get worse before they get better".
That's according to a HSE Specialist in Public Health for the North-East, who's been responding to the increased virus spread since Christmas.
NPHET estimates that the reproduction number is between 2.4 and 3, and that there could still be 2,500 daily cases by the end of the month.
Dr Peter Finnegan from the HSE North East says it'll be the second half of the year before we see the benefit of the vaccine rollout.
He expects numbers to continue to rise over the coming days.