By Joleen Murphy & Kevin Galvin
411 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Republic this afternoon, along with 6 further deaths.
Of the cases notified today, 150 are in Dublin , 31 are in Donegal, and 25 are in Wexford.
While Kilkenny hasn't recorded a new case of the virus in the past 24 hours.
Elsewhere there have been nine cases in Tipperary, while Waterford and Carlow have has less than five cases each.
Earlier it was announced, NPHET warned the government the risk of a fourth wave of Covid infection in the coming weeks is very high, if public health measures are relaxed too quickly.
In a letter to the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, ahead of the government decision on easing restrictions, it says there is a critical window over the next eight weeks.
Public Health officials believe a significant increase in close contacts is likely to lead to an additional wave of infection, in the range of that experienced in October last year or in January this year.
The number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital has fallen below 300 for the first time since the end of December, according to the Department of Health.
Latest figures show there are 297 people receiving treatment on wards, which is down from 310 yesterday.
In the past 24 hours there were 16 admissions to and 27 discharges from hospitals.
Last night, there were 65 people with the disease in ICU.
