There have been 31 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland, 289 confirmed cases in Meath

A further 31 people with Covid-19 in Ireland have died bringing the total number of deaths to 356

These most recent cases are made up of:
26 deaths located in the east, three in the north west, one in the south and one in the west of the country - 18 females and 13 males
The victims had a median age of 82, 25 people were reported to have underlying health conditions

There are now 289 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Meath representing 3 per cent of the national total

In terms of new cases there have been:

527 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported by Irish laboratories
465 confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany
With the latest German figures included, there are now a total of 10,647 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said:

Today marks a milestone in Ireland’s experience of Covid-19 as we see the number of confirmed cases exceed 10,000.
“The number of community cases of Covid-19 shows why we continue to need the public health measures that we currently have in place. I understand that the current restrictions are tough, especially during a bank holiday weekend when in normal circumstances most of us would have met up with family and friends but I ask that the public continue to work with us and follow the guidelines that are in place.
“The next three weeks will prove crucial to Ireland’s Covid-19 story and by working together we give ourselves the best chance to slow the spread and save lives.”

Earlier, The Minister for Health has said Ireland's approach to tackling Covid-19 is the "right strategy" that is "going to save lives".

Simon Harris said it is important for the Irish people, who are hurting and who are making sacrifices, to know this.

Minister Harris cited modelling done by Professor Philip Nolan, which projected that this coming Sunday alone, there would have been 120,000 new cases of the virus, if no restrictive measures had been introduced.

Mr Harris said the more progress that is made over the next three weeks, the more likely it is that the Government can begin to tweak some of the restrictions that are currently in place.

However, he said this does not mean going back to life before Covid-19, because "it is still going to be here".

"There isn't going to be a magic point at the start of May, where life as we knew it can resume".

He said that social distancing is going to remain a "very big part of life", until an effective treatment or vaccine can be found.