A further 365 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed this evening.
There are currently 103 people with Covid-19 in hospital, 41 of which are being treated in ICU.
The figures were confirmed by the Department of Health this evening.
They come as the latest rules for the reopening of indoor dining for pubs and restaurants have been set out ahead of their reopening.
Currently the plan is for outdoor service to be allowed to resume on June 7 for pubs and restaurants.
However it is likely it will not be until mid to late July for the return of indoor services.
And there was much fury this afternoon after it was revealed that a time limit would likely be in place for when people do return to indoor drinking and dining.
Meanwhile Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said the skies should be reopened for fully-vaccinated people.
He said “there’s a need for pragmatism” in relaxing the restrictions on travel for those who can’t contract Covid.
The Minister for Transport indicated his preference for allowing people jet away on international travel trips - and for incoming tourists - as soon as they are protected by the jab.
And he said there isn’t even necessarily a need to wait for the highly-anticipated Digital Green Certificate from the EU, as this might not be in widespread use until the middle of August.
Mr Ryan told the Dáil this afternoon: “Already the principle is established in the Mandatory Hotel Quarantine (MHQ) regulations that vaccinated people should not be subject to MHQ.
“As the vaccine programme is rolled out, and large portions of the population are fully vaccinated, I would like to see this principle applied more broadly in the context of the opening of international travel, i.e., that fully-vaccinated people that do not present a public health risk of the spread of Covid-19 should not be subjected to pre-arrival testing or quarantine requirements."
