'We cannot let our guard slip': Six further deaths and 456 new Covid-19 cases

Dr Holohan said that although progress has been made people must be mindful that the virus is still very active in the community.

There have been six additional deaths related to Covid-19, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

All six lives were lost in November. This brings the death toll in Ireland to 1,978.

The HPSC has been notified of 456 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus bringing the total of confirmed cases in the Republic to 67,526.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan has expressed concern that the progress made in the past number of weeks is at risk.

"Analysis of today’s data shows the five-day moving average of case numbers has increased from 354 to 392.

"We have seen higher numbers in recent days than we expected based on the encouraging trends of the last three weeks. We are concerned that this progress is at risk."

Dr Holohan said that although progress has been made people must be mindful that the virus is still very active in the community.

"We cannot let our guard slip."

Nphet will closely monitor the situation over the coming days.

The Chief Medical Officer reiterated the simple steps that every individual can take to help stop the spread of the virus: washing hands regularly, wearing a face covering, maintaining social distance, limiting contacts, knowing the symptoms and importantly self-isolating and contacting a GP if a person shows symptoms of the virus.

Of today's 456 cases, almost 70% are under the age of 45 with the average age at 33 years old.

The majority of cases are located in Dublin with 151 reported in the capital.

Dublin is followed by Limerick with 38 while Cork, Donegal and Galway each reported 27 cases.

The remaining 186 cases are spread across 20 other counties.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 now stands at 130.2.

There were 254 people with Covid-19 receiving treatment in hospital this morning. Of these, 32 are in ICU.

In the North, there were 10 further deaths announced today bringing the death toll in the region to 846.

There were also another 511 confirmed cases of the virus recorded in the latest 24-hour reporting period.

There were 49 Covid-19 patients in intensive care on Saturday morning.