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People will be allowed to travel between counties during the first week of January according to plans the government is considering.
RTÉ News understands that restaurants and bars that serve food may continue to trade until December 30.
The Cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss the latest proposals from the National Public Health Emergency Team, urging the closure of bars and restaurants as of December 28.
NPHET also recommended stopping inter-county travel and limiting visitors to another home; currently, up to three households can meet until January 6.
Several ministers have privately indicated that they are in favor of a less restrictive approach during the Christmas period.
High-level government sources have told RTÉ News that plans are being considered to allow inter-county travel during the first week of January.
The government is also expected to agree that restaurants and bars serving food will be allowed to stay open until December 30.
That’s two days after NPHET advised, but one week earlier than previously planned.
Visitors will also be limited to one home starting December 30. This means the blinds are coming down on New Years Eve celebrations.
Meanwhile, the medical director has called on the public to do everything possible to protect public health after an increase in Covid-19 cases in the past five days.
He expressed great concern about the number of cases and said that with vaccines offering hope in the coming months, we want to keep our most vulnerable groups alive so that they can receive it.
Yesterday, the Health Department was notified of another six coronavirus-related deaths and 582 new cases.
The number of daily cases has increased for four days in a row, which is an unusual fact that suggests a strong upward trend.
Dr. Holohan said the situation is getting worse faster than expected and the country simply cannot cope with this level of infection as we approach Christmas.
There were 201 Covid-19 patients in Irish hospitals as of 8pm last night, according to the latest HSE figures, slightly down from the previous 24 hours.
Most of these patients were at Beaumont Hospital (38), Letterkenny (26), and Kilkenny (21).
There were also 222 suspected cases in hospitals, of which 132 were also in Beaumont.
Thirty-one patients confirmed with Covid-19 were being treated in intensive care, of which 18 were connected to ventilators.
Most of the patients in the ICU are in Dublin, four in Tallaght, three in Beaumont and three in Mater.
As of last night, there were also 26 intensive care beds available.
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Additional reporting George Lee
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