The Department of Health has confirmed 18,904 new cases of Covid-19. There are 1,011 patients in hospital with the virus, down 44 on the same time yesterday.
Of these, 92 people are being treated in ICU, which is unchanged from yesterday. The new figures come as the rules on close contacts of Covid-19 cases and the requirement to take a PCR test will be relaxed from midnight tonight.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "It is important to note that the latest public health advice around self-isolation and restriction of movement places an increased emphasis on the use by cases and close contacts of higher-grade face masks, as opposed to cloth masks. "Other protective measures including strict limiting of social contacts are also advised for the full 10 days following a confirmed Covid-19 infection or close contact.
These combined measures are intended to offset any increase in risk of transmission that may result from the reduction and or removal of the requirement to self-isolate or restrict movements." We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.