Ireland’s total number of confirmed Covid cases has now exceeded 200,000.
75 further Covid-19 deaths have been confirmed, as well as 1,318 new cases.
46 of the deaths notified today happened in February, 27 were in January and two occurred at an earlier date.
The youngest of those whose deaths are reported today was aged 34, while the oldest was 100. The median age of those who died was 84.
428 of today's cases are in Dublin, while 122 are in Cork, 93 are in Galway, 78 are in Kildare and 77 are in Limerick, and the remainder are spread across the country.
As of 2pm today, 1,284 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised across the country, of which 188 are in ICU. 74 additional hospitalisations have occurred in the past 24 hours.
Speaking on Thursday, Philip Nolan said: "It’s very good news that our estimates of the R number are well below one - in the region of 0.5-0.8".
He continued: "The next few weeks will be difficult for all of us, as we bring the daily case levels below 1,000 per day, our progress will seem to slow down. It is now more important than ever that we continue our efforts to bring case numbers down."
Nolan also warned that numbers are going to be affected by the fact that close contacts are now being tested again, but that we should not be "disappointed" by this.
CMO Tony Holohan said: "We know that the over 70s have suffered the greatest burden of mortality and serious illness from Covid-19. Ireland is now in a good position; we can now offer highly effective and safe vaccines to this cohort.
"The superior efficacy demonstrated by the mRNA vaccines authorised for use in Ireland, Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna mean that the mRNA vaccines are the right vaccine to provide the highest level of protection available to those over 70.
"Over the coming weeks, we will see many more of our vulnerable loved ones receive their COVID-19 vaccinations. This is good news and gives all of us great hope.
"However, even if you have received your Covid-19 vaccine, you must continue to wash your hands, wear a face covering, maintain a social distance and keep your close contacts to a minimum. Until we have all been vaccinated, we must act as though none of us have been vaccinated."
As of Wednesday (3 February),
219,200 Covid vaccines have been administered across Ireland.
Earlier in the day, the Northern Ireland Department of Health reported that a further 412 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
Sadly, a further 10 deaths have also been reported up north (with six of them being outside the 24-hour reporting period).
