A further 359 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed - the lowest daily figure since mid-December.

This brings the total number of cases in the Republic to 220,630.

Fourteen more deaths related to the virus have also been reported. Three of these deaths occurred in March, 10 in February and one in November. The total number of deaths now stands at 4,333.

Of the 359 new cases, 159 occurred in Dublin, 25 in Westmeath, 21 in Louth, 21 in Galway and 19 in Meath.

As of 8am on Tuesday, there were 498 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in hospital, 116 of whom were in ICU. There had been an additional 28 hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of February 27, a total of 435,895 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered - 294,550 first doses and 141,345 second doses.

According to the Department of Health's deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, while the low number of cases reported today may be attributable to a weekend effect, "it is nevertheless very welcome".

"While we continue to make good progress in Ireland, globally in the past week, the number of cases of COVID-19 has increased for the first time in seven weeks.

"We must not allow this virus the opportunity to do the same here. Please hold firm to the public health advice and together we can continue to protect and build on the progress we have made over the last two months," he commented.

More information on the latest figures in relation to COVID-19, including the number of people vaccinated so far, is available here.