A further 24 people have died from the coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland today with 107 more cases.
There have now been 1,488 deaths from the virus since it reached Ireland with a total of 23,242 cases.
The Department of Health announced the figures at a briefing chaired by Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan this evening.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “We are continuing to examine the progress of the disease and though we are still making progress, which is giving us real encouragement, we need to keep going. We still have 70 people in ICU and over 500 people in hospital. We have more work to do.”
The latest numbers come just days before Ireland is set to start easing restrictions on Monday, May 18th.
Earlier today the National Public Health Emergency Team met again to discuss the current pandemic situation in Ireland.
The team will make a recommendation to Government on Friday whether it is safe to proceed with the first stage of reopening or if it needs to be pushed back.
Speaking on Monday, Dr Holohan said: "As we approach May 18th, the next date highlighted in the Government’s Roadmap, we continue to monitor key parameters associated with COVID-19. These include the number of new cases, numbers admitted to hospital and currently in ICU and the number of deaths.
"My expectation is that we might be able to make a positive recommendation about the easing of restrictions."
