A further 13 people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic.

One death that had previously been classed as COVID-related has been denotified, so the total number of deaths now stands at 1,604.

A further 76 cases of the virus have also been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases here to 24,582.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has shown that of the 24,451 cases reported by midnight on May 21, 3,211 have been hospitalised and of these, 393 have been admitted to ICU.

Some 7,913 cases are associated with healthcare workers, which is almost 32% of all cases.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Nursing Home Expert Panel.

The role of the panel will be to examine and advise on the many challenges facing nursing homes by examining national and international measures, as well as emerging best practice, in relation to COVID-19. This is due to the expected ongoing risk of the virus and its impact on nursing homes over the next six to 18 months. 

The panel will report to the Minister for Health by the end of June 2020.

"Throughout the response to the pandemic, there has been particular focus on the challenges in the nursing home sector. We must continue to plan appropriately to meet the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 into the foreseeable future," Minister Harris commented.

The panel will be chaired by Prof Cecily Kelleher, principal of the College of Health and Agricultural Sciences at UCD. She will be joined by Prof Cillian Twomey, a retired geriatrician, Petrina Donnelly, who is group director of nursing with the RCSI Hospital Group, and Bridget Doherty, who will represent the public interest.

They are expected to begin their scoping work early next week.

Phase 1 of the Government's Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business is now in place. For more information on this, click here.