A further 13 people have died due to Covid while another 371 cases were confirmed today.
Of these deaths, 3 occurred in April, 3 in March, and 7 in February or earlier.
In terms of the location of today's new cases, 131 are n Dublin, 38 in Kildare, 33 in Donegal, 18 in Cork, 17 in Meath.
The median age of those who died was 85 years and the age range was 60 - 95 years.
Of the cases notified today:
- 190 are men / 181 are women
- 77% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 28 years old
153 people are in hospital with COVID, with 45 patients in ICU.
In terms of the vaccination programme, as of April 26, 1,417,942 doses of vaccine have been administered in Ireland.
1,014,640 people have received their first dose, with 403,302 people receiving their second dose.
Earlier today, the Government intimated that they're likely to scrap the €9 substantial meal rule which kept so-called wet pubs closed.
Speaking ahead of this week's Cabinet meeting, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said there won’t be a distinction between wet pubs and pubs that serve food when the hospitality industry is allowed to reopen for customers indoors.
When asked if there’ll be any more €9 substantial meals, Mr Ryan said: “I think less likely, I think we've learned outdoor is safer..that will define..not whether you're having chicken nuggets on top of it.
“I think we might learn from, we don’t want all those systems where you have to ..people had to get a certain meal and it was a false kind of division.
“I think it will start outdoors because it’s much safer and I don’t think it’ll be whether it’s divided between food or not.
“Really outdoors versus indoors will be the difference.”
Ministers are pushing for outdoor dining to reopen at the end of May but a final decision will be made after health chiefs meet with government officials on Wednesday night.
The Cabinet sub-committee is meeting on Wednesday to consider what restrictions can be eased next month.
It is anticipated that the Government will then set out plans for June and July, as well as the next few weeks.
Elsewhere, the Taoiseach has said that Ireland will be in a "very good position" come June, despite backtracking on the Government's vaccine targets.
Speaking on Northern Sound/Shannonside radio, Mr Martin said: “The original target was to try to get to 80% target first dose by the end of June.
“Now obviously there have been changes to the schedule.
“There have been delays, we’ve lost a number of weeks because of the various advices and so on that have come in from NIAC (National Immunisation Advisory Council) in relation to AstraZeneca and indeed the cancellation of Johnson & Johnson, although that was low enough volumes.
“But we’re still pursuing that target, we’re still going after that target obviously.”
Mr Martin added: “We will look at hotels, bed and breakfasts and guesthouses in the month of June.
“We will make a comprehensive announcement on it tomorrow.
“The virus has devastated many areas of our economy. We are very conscious of that.
“Whatever we reopen we want to keep it open. That is the challenge. We are dealing with a very transmissible variant here.
“It’s about balance and being proportionate. It’s still out there – 400 cases a day.
