Another 1,047 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed by public health chiefs, as well as 35 more tragic deaths.
The latest figures, announced by the National Public Health Emergency Team this evening, bring to 3,621 the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Ireland.
There has now been a total of 201,763 cases of the virus in the year since it hit Ireland.
Of today's cases, 292 are in Dublin, 119 are in Cork, 76 are in Wexford, 60 are in Limerick, 47 are in Kildare and the remaining 453 are spread across the other 21 counties.
Announcing the cases, the Chief Medical Officer urged the public to stay vigilant, insisting: "No single intervention is perfect at preventing the spread of COVID-19."
He added that "it takes many different individual actions to slow down the spread of the disease.
"Every action you take is another layer of protection between you and the virus – the more layers you have the more protectin you have."
The news comes amid a Garda crackdown on those crossing the Irish border, with a €100 penalty to be levied against Northern Ireland citizens caught.
The new restrictions – announced by the Gardai today – represent another step for a country taking major steps to minimise the threat of imported cases.
If you are not “ordinarily resident” in the Republic of Ireland, the fine for being here if it is not essential business will be €100.
And the same rule will apply to citizens from any other states too, which in effect gives the gardaí to crack down on any visitors who break the strict new quarantine rules.
House parties are increasingly coming under the radar of the gardaí too, with the stats today revealing there have been 300 fines dished out to partygoers.
Today's figures come after public health experts warned that Ireland is likely to see an "uptick" in the number of cases reported as close contact testing resumes.
The practice had temporarily halted at the height of the third wave as the health service struggled to cope with the surge in cases – and Professor Philip Nolan urged the public not to be "disheartened" if they notice an increase in the number of cases.
Last night, the Taoiseach hinted that Ireland will be facing a "very different" landscape by the summer, leaving the door open to a summer reopening amid the gloom of lockdown.
Micheal Martin said that there is "of course" hope for the country as the vaccine rollout starts to amp up.
"The vaccination programme is rolling out, and it has been effective to date," he told RTE's Prime Time.
"We’ve achieved our targets in terms of vaccination.
"I think what we can say to people: that will happen, and we will get that, in terms of the dynamic changes."
