51 more Covid related deaths have been reported by Health officials with 2,608 additional cases,
1,019 of those are in County Dublin, with 204 in Cork, and the rest are spread across every other county.
In the South East, Waterford has 104 new confirmed cases , the highest case figure in the region this evening.
There are 66 in Wexford, 33 in Carlow, 24 in Tipperary and 15 new infections confirmed in Kilkenny.
While the reproductive number of the virus is estimated to be between 0.5 and 0.8.
49 of these deaths occurred in January.
The median age of those who died is 80 years and the age range is 58-103 years.
As of 2pm today, 1,943 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 214 are in ICU. 105 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Head of NPHET's Modelling Group, Dr Philip Nolan says the country has done 'exceptional' work, but that needs to be kept up.
"Collectively, we have done an exceptional job interrupting the transmission of the virus over the last fortnight.
"We can see that in some cases there is a quite rapid decrease in indicators for disease.
"That said, we are going to find that difficult to sustain."
The news comes as Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 lockdown restrictions will be extended to March 5th.
Stormont health minister Robin Swann proposed the step to help drive down case numbers.
Ministerial colleagues at the Executive in Belfast agreed the move and there are suggestions the curbs could ultimately continue until Easter.
An extended lockdown closing non-essential retailers, keeping schools shut to most pupils and encouraging employees to work from home began after Christmas.
Family gatherings are prohibited and police enforcement has been stepped up.
A further 21 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland have died, it was reported on Thursday.
Another 732 new cases of the virus have been detected, according to the region's department of health.
There are 806 Covid-positive patients in hospitals, with 70 in intensive care.
Deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill said it was a difficult decision to prolong the curbs, which will be reviewed next month.
“It has been a long and hard road for all.
“There is no doubt that there are better days ahead but we need to keep working together right now to save lives and protect the health service.”
