There have been no further deaths from Covid-19 as 142 new cases were recorded.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 28, 729 while the death toll stands at 1,777.
The latest figures were released by the the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) this evening.
Of the cases notified today;
- 74 are men / 66 are women
- 69% are under 45 years of age
- 32 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 19 cases have been identified as community transmission
- 59 in Dublin, 20 in Kildare, 14 in Donegal, 14 in Limerick, eight in Wexford, six in Tipperary and the remaining 21 are located in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Mayo, Meath and Wicklow.
The country is now entering a 14-day “crucial phase” which will determine if there is going to be another national lockdown, it emerged today.
The chairman of NPHET Dr Cillian De Gascun said that the next two weeks is going to be a difficult time during which they hope to see the current Covid-19 measures taking effect.
The head of the National Public Health Emergency Team’s Expert Advisory Group on Covid-19 said that NPHET really wants to avoid a second national lockdown or moving back to stay-at-home restrictions “if at all possible”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Brendan O’Connor programme Dr De Gascun, who is also Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, said they would never exclude anything in relation to measures, adding that NPHET’s priority was protecting public health.
He said: “So we have to be very careful about that. We don’t want to go back into a national lockdown if we don’t have to.
“But I think the key thing to remember about the stay-at-home restrictions is that they did work. That’s why it is there, it’s a tool in the armoury that you never exclude definitively.”
Meanwhile, HSE chief executive Paul Reid said it has been a "a long six months" since the first Covid-19 case confirmed in the State.
"Much learning, hurt, sorrow, grieving and frustration.
"But there's also been inspirational responses from the public and healthcare workers," he tweeted.
"A more difficult phase now but the same virus."
