"We are starting to see the first signs of a lower prevalence of the disease in the population."
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has been notified of 52 additional deaths related to Covid-19.
The HPSC said that 50 of these deaths occurred in January.
The median age of those who died is 82 years and the age range is 39-99 years
2,371 cases of Covid-19 were also confirmed in Ireland.
757 in Dublin, 237 in Cork, 154 in Waterford, 123 in Wexford, 114 in Louth, and the remaining 986 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of 2pm today, 1,931 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 219 are in ICU.
There have been 78 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer said: “We know that the ongoing restrictions are very challenging for people but, through the hard work and sacrifice of the vast majority of people, we are starting to see the first signs of a lower prevalence of the disease in the population. Strictly adhering to the public health measures is the key to making real progress in terms of flattening the curve and lowering the current trends in our hospitals and ICUs.
“The ‘Covid-19 find-test-trace-isolate’ process is vital to our efforts. Our data is telling us that for a third of people, it’s 4 days or more from the time they first experience symptoms of Covid-19 to the time they get tested. We all need to contact our GP as soon as symptoms occur, so we can trace our contacts and prevent further infections.
“This weekend, we need everyone to stay the course with hand washing, covering coughs, wearing face coverings and keeping a 2m distance. In order to take care of each other, we need all to stay at home, except for essential reasons, to minimise the spread of Covid-19 to ourselves and our loved ones.”
