Fifteen more deaths from COVID-19 have been reported, as well as 401 new cases of the virus.

Of the 15 deaths, two occurred in April, three in March, six in February and four in January or earlier. This brings the total number of deaths in the Republic to 4,856.

Of the 401 new cases, 182 occurred in Dublin, 40 in Kildare, 31 in Donegal, 23 in Limerick and 22 in Cork. The total number of cases now stands at 244,695.

As of 8am on Wednesday, there were 182 people with COVID-19 in hospital, 47 of whom were in ICU. There had been 19 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of April 19, over 1.2 million doses of the vaccine had been administered. Over 355,000 people have received both of their two doses.

Meanwhile, over 146,000 people aged between 65 and 69 have so far registered for vaccination appointments through the HSE's portal, since it opened last Thursday. People in this age group were asked to register online or by phone over the course of the last week, and everyone registering will be given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

It is hoped that booking will open for those in the 60-64 age group by early next week at the latest.