There have been a further 253 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Ireland today, with 116 of those in Dublin.
That brings the total number of cases in Ireland since the pandemic began to 32,271.
Health chiefs also announced three further deaths today, with 1,792 people sadly losing their lives due to coronavirus related illness so far.
Of the cases notified today;
- 143 are men / 108 are women
- 71% are under 45 years of age
- 45% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 61 cases have been identified as community transmission
- 116 in Dublin, 22 in Kildare, 14 in Cork, 14 in Galway, 13 in Donegal, 10 in Limerick, 10 in Louth, 9 in Mayo, 8 in Waterford, 7 in Wicklow and the remaining 30 cases are located in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Tipperary, Westmeath.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin is expected to make an announcement this evening on further restrictions for Dublin.
It's LD-Day for Dublin as the capital braces itself for another lockdown, with a decision on strict new social-distancing measures expected later this evening.
Living with Level 3 restrictions is on the cards for Dubliners if Cabinet agrees to National Public Health Emergency Team recommendations made yesterday.
A leading professor has explained why pubs and restaurants need to shut down as per the recommendations of the National Public Health Emergency Team.
Hundreds of businesses hit back following the announcement as they warned they may not be able to survive further closures.
They said that very few outbreaks and clusters had been attributed to restaurants according to official figures from the Department of Health.
However chair of NPHET's Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group Professor Philip Nolan said this is "misreading" the data.
He said that while he understood publicans' concerns and that "livelihoods are at stake", he added that the deadly virus could "spiral out of control" without these measures.
