BREAKING: National daily confirmed Covid-19 case numbers revealed

A TOTAL of 1,453 Covid-19 cases have been reported overnight, figures out this teatime show.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre also shows that 300 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, of which 60 are in intensive care.

There's now been a total of 5,249 deaths related to Covid-19 notified in Ireland. This includes 40 deaths newly notified in the past seven days.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "Throughout the pandemic, we have seen Irish people make extraordinary efforts to drive down incidence of Covid-19 by following the public health advice. More recently, the response to Ireland’s vaccination programme has been heartening, and now just under 91% of the population aged 16 years and older are fully protected through vaccination. Our collective efforts have protected thousands of people from experiencing the worst outcomes from Covid-19."

"As more of the activities we enjoy become available to us this week, it is important that we continue this national effort to break the chains of transmission of Covid-19. Vaccination remains our best means of protection and, if vaccination is available to you, then I strongly encourage you to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible," he added.

Dr Holohan urged people to continue to regularly wash their hands, wear a mask when appropriate – particularly in retail settings, on public transport and in healthcare settings - keep your distance, open windows and ventilate indoor spaces.

If you display symptoms of Covid-19 like cough, fever, fatigue, headache, or sore throat - isolate and contact your GP who will advise if you need to arrange a test, he added.