Dr Tony Holohan has issued a moving message to the nation as Ireland approaches a year of living with Covid-19.
And the Chief Medical Officer offered some hope for an end to the current strict lockdown as he explained that the vaccine was now "on the horizon" and will "mitigate the worst effects" of coronavirus.
Dr Holohan was speaking after it was announced that a further 94 people had sadly passed away here, while 1,013 new cases were confirmed.
47 of the deaths announced today occurred in February, 44 occurred in January, 2 in December and 1 in November.
Dublin was once again the hardest-hit region, recording a further 337 new infections, followed by Galway with 96.
While there were 65 new cases in Cork, 60 in Kildare, 48 in Louth and the remaining 407 cases are spread across all other counties.
We are now approaching one year living with Covid-19 in Ireland, including three separate strict lockdowns.
And the CMO has issued an emotional statement, encouraging members of the public to keep themselves safe ahead of the rollout of a vaccine.
Dr Holohan explained that we know so much more than we did last March, and offered a message of hope.
He said this evening: “At the outset of this pandemic, as a global community we knew much less about COVID-19 than we do now.
"We did not know then that today we would have a portfolio of approved vaccines to mitigate the worst effects of COVID-19, adding to our toolkit of public health measures such as social distancing, reducing contacts, mask-wearing, cough/sneeze hygiene and washing our hands.
“Now more than ever, as we are continuing to see the tragic effects of the recent surge of COVID-19 infection in the form of mortality, hospitalisation and ICU admission, we should remember the public health advice that has carried us so far in this pandemic, and helped us to suppress COVID-19 together successfully in the past.
“It is the collective hard work and ongoing sacrifice of people across Ireland in following these public health measures that will keep us all safe at this time, as we look ahead to the increased rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon.
"Keep it up, and encourage others to do the same.
"In short: the present is the time to protect yourself and stay safe, in order to receive your vaccine in the future.”
