Government sources confirmed that the recommendation to shut retail had been made in a letter sent by Nphet following its meeting on Wednesday.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said the Cabinet would consider Nphetâs advice when it meets on December 29th.
Non-essential retail
The data to date had shown that non-essential retail was not affecting the spread of the virus, said Mr Coveney, but the Cabinet would consider Nphetâs advice, he told RTÃ Radioâs Morning Ireland.
Mr Coveney went on to reject a suggestion that the decision to relax restrictions at the start of December had been a mistake.
Of the new cases, 193 are in Dublin, 59 in Wexford, 47 in Louth, 42 in Meath and 34 in Cork with the remaining 207 cases spread across all other remaining counties.
On Friday afternoon there were 198 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 34 were in ICU. There have been 13 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
The surge in cases has pushed the 14-day incidence of the disease up above 100 again, to 100.8 cases per 100,000 people. Donegal, Louth and Kilkenny have the highest county figures, while Leitrim and Clare have the lowest.
Meanwhile there has been a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 outbreaks in private households, and just one recorded in a hospitality setting in the past week, latest figures show.
The country simply cannot cope with this level of infection before Christmas, says Tony Holohan as 582 new cases reported irishtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from irishtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The total number of Covid-19 related deaths in the State is now at 2,140 and the total number of confirmed cases is 77,197 . There were 22 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours and as of 2pm on Wednesday, 207 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 30 are in ICU. Of the cases notified on Wendesday 67 per cent are aged under 45. Cases included 134 in Dublin, 53 in Donegal, 24 in Cavan, 24 in Louth and 22 in Mayo. The highest 14-day incidence per 100,000 is in Donegal (87.9), followed by Louth (201.7), Kilkenny (197.5), Carlow (156.3) and Cavan (147)
Earlier Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned that the Covid-19 crisis in the North could happen in the State âif we allow things to go out of controlâ.