Nphet reports one more death and 539 new Covid-19 cases
As of Sunday morning, 331 coronavirus patients were in hospital, of whom 70 were in ICU.
There has been one further Covid-19-related death in Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has said.
Another 539 cases of the virus were also confirmed by Nphet in the last 24-hour reporting period.
The latest figures from the Department of Health brings the total number of cases to 235,078 and the total death toll to 4,667.
As of Sunday morning, 331 coronavirus patients were in hospital, of whom 70 were in ICU.
There were 19 additional hospital admissions in the previous 24 hours.
Dr Martin Daly, a former president of the Irish Medical Organisation, says the latest figures reflect a "worrying trend."
"The numbers of people infected in the community appears to be stubbornly high, and that reflects the experience of GPs on the ground.
"I certainly was on duty for the weekend and this morning and I've referred more people for testing that I have for a number of weeks.
The five-day moving average of cases now stands at 591, while the 14-day incidence of the virus per 100,000 population is now at 163.7.
Offaly has the highest county incidence rate, followed by Donegal.
Of the new cases, 262 are in Dublin, 32 in Kildare, 30 in Westmeath, 26 in Galway, 21 in Meath, 21 in Offaly, and the remaining 147 cases are spread across 20 other counties.
Of the cases notified today, 288 are men and 249 are women. 73% are under 45 years of age, and the median age is 32-years-old.
As of March 26, a total of 786,569 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland. Some 567,023 people have received their first dose, while 219,546 people have received two doses.
Cabinet ministers will consider a phased easing of some restrictions through April at a meeting this evening.
The cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19 will meet later to be briefed and decide on what to do next following a meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team this morning where they consider the situation in the face of increasing numbers of new cases over the last week.
The focus will be on allowing outdoor activities - replacing the 5km travel rule, allowing meet-ups with one other household, a return to sport for children and bringing back activities like golf and tennis.
Professor of Immunology Paul Moynagh says meeting outdoors can be done safely.
"I think everybody agrees that outdoor activity is much less of a risk," Prof Moynagh said.
"We've known that for a long long time. There have been many publications now on this virus and how it spreads and the risk of outdoor spread is very, very low."
The latest suggestion in Government circles is the easing may be phased through April by allowing one measure a week to be eased and giving time to assess the impact of those measures.
While Ministers want to allow the reopening of the construction industry, there is concern about what it would mean for the number of people moving around the country to work on various sites.
A roadmap for what will happen in May is also expected to be agreed upon.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
