There have been 1,978 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Ireland this evening by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
The Department of Health says there are now 221 people in hospital, with 43 of those in ICU.
It comes as further milestones in Ireland's coronavirus vaccination programme were reached today, with more targets due to be met this weekend.
Paul Reid, the CEO of the HSE, hailed the "great milestones" today in the inoculation rollout.
He said: "0ver 80% of adults now fully vaccinated and almost 90% partially.
"65,000 12-15-year-olds have registered and many of these will be administered this weekend.
"Ireland is right to be proud of the programme and the public's response."
Taoiseach Micheal Martin also praised the progress of our vaccination programme and extended his thanks "to the phenomenal uptake and efforts of so many people".
Almost 6.3 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland to date.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly added: "Thank you to all the staff and volunteers in our programme and to the population who embraced the programme."
Meanwhile, an expert in infectious diseases has said the Irish government should begin to ease further restrictions
Jack Lambert, Professor of Infectious Diseases at UCD's School of Medicine, said leaders also need to start thinking about how Ireland can live with Covid in a safe manner.
"Let's just start planning for booster vaccinations, let's start planning for modifications of our lifestyle and safe environments," he told Newstalk Breakfast.
"A lot of the facilities we have are not ventilated properly from schools to pubs. People continue to let their guard down, but we also need to keep on with hand washing, you know face masks and People continue to let their guard down but we need to keep hand washing, mask-wearing etc."
He added that the government need to ease further restrictions and that while case numbers are still high, there are other health issues related to Covid that need more focus.
"Absolutely, I think it's time [to ease restrictions]. I think it's time for all sorts of reasons. If we do it properly, it's going to be done in a safe way. It's important to do because the collateral damage from Covid is huge," Professor Lambert stated.
"We give numbers of ICU with Covid, but what about the numbers of ICUs of people with attempted suicides, people with all sorts of things that have happened because of Covid?
"We're not taking into account those kinds of things. Yes, we have to start easing restrictions. I think it's the right thing to do and I think if you look at the rest of the world, there's evidence that we can do it safely."
