One of the country's top doctors has urged the country to "hold firm" as he confirmed the lowest daily COVID-19 cases since mid-December.
NPHET announced 359 new cases of the virus and 14 deaths this evening.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, welcomed the news but also issued a word of caution as cases rose globally for the first time in seven weeks.
He said: “While the low number of cases reported today may be attributable to a weekend effect, it is nevertheless very welcome and represents the lowest number of cases reported on a single day since mid-December.
“While we continue to make good progress in Ireland, globally in the past week, the number of cases of COVID-19 has increased for the first time in seven weeks.
"We must not allow this virus the opportunity to do the same here. Please hold firm to the public health advice and together we can continue to protect and build on the progress we have made over the last two months."
There have now been 220,630 cases of coronavirus recorded in Ireland while 4,333 people have sadly died from the disease.
Of the deaths confirmed today, three occurred in March, 10 in February and one in November.
As of February 27, 435,895 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland, with 294,550 people receiving their first dose and 141,345 getting their second dose.
Of the cases notified today:
- 157 are men / 193 are female
- 66% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 34 years old
- 159 in Dublin, 25 in Westmeath, 21 in Louth, 21 in Galway, 19 in Meath and the remaining 114 cases are spread across 19 other counties
As of 8am this morning, 498 COVID-19 patients are in hospital, with 116 receiving ICU treatment.
There have been 28 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
