A further 52 deaths from COVID-19 have been confirmed, as well as 2,371 new cases.

The median age of those who died was 82, although the age range was 39-99 years.

This brings the total number of deaths here to 2,870 and the total number of cases to 184,279.

Of the new cases, 757 occurred in Dublin, 237 in Cork, 154 in Waterford, 123 in Wexford and 114 in Louth.

As of 2pm on Friday, 1,931 people with confirmed COVID-19 were in hospital, 219 of whom were in ICU. There had been 78 additional hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours.

"We know that the ongoing restrictions are very challenging for people, but through the hard work and sacrifice of the vast majority of people, we are starting to see the first signs of a lower prevalence of the disease in the population.

"Strictly adhering to the public health measures is the key to making real progress in terms of flattening the curve and lowering the current trends in our hospitals and ICUs," commented the Department of Health's chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan.

He noted that according to the latest data available, "for a third of people, it's four days or more from the time they first experience symptoms of COVID-19 to the time they get tested".

"We all need to contact our GP as soon as symptoms occur, so we can trace our contacts and prevent further infections," he insisted.

He urged everyone to continue to follow the pubic health advice this weekend.

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