A further 24 people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic.

Three deaths that had previously been classed as COVID-related have been denotified, so the number of deaths now stands at 1,488.

Meanwhile, 107 new cases of the virus have been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases here to 23,242.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre shows that of the 23,089 cases reported to it as of midnight on May 10, 3,031 (13%) have been hospitalised and of these, 386 have been admitted to ICU.

Some 6,906 cases are associated with healthcare workers.

According to the Department of Health's chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, "we are making good progress and our reproduction number is where we want it to be".

"We are continuing to examine the progress of the disease and though we are still making progress, which is giving us real encouragement, we need to keep going. We still have 70 people in ICU and over 500 people in hospital. We have more work to do," he insisted.

Today is International Nurses Day and 2020 is also International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. According to the department's deputy chief nursing officer, Rachel Kenna, nurses and midwives "have risen to the challenge and remain a vital resource to our health service".

"Our nurses and midwives are working in high-risk situations on a daily basis, delivering care in PPE, making personal sacrifices and continuing to provide compassionate care in a stressful environment.

"The public actions over the last number of weeks have meant nurses and midwives can continue to deliver care to those who need it. Please continue to support them during this time, hold firm and stay safe," she commented.

COVID-19 is spread through close contact with an infected person's body fluids (e.g. droplets from coughing or sneezing), or by touching surfaces that an infected person has coughed or sneezed on. It can take up to 14 days for symptoms of the virus to show. These may include a fever, a persistent cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

COVID-19 can also cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia and severe breathing difficulties. Some 80% of cases will be mild to moderate, 14% will be more severe, while 6% will be critical.

The current restrictions in relation to COVID-19 are now in place until May 18. As part of these restrictions, everybody is asked to stay at home, except in specific circumstances. These include:
-Travelling to and from work in circumstances where the work is an essential health, social care or other essential service that cannot be done from home
-To shop for essential food and household goods
-To attend medical appointments
-For vital family reasons, such as caring for children or elderly people
-To take brief individual exercise within your locality, which may include children from your household, however this should be within 5km of your home.

All public and private gatherings of any number of people outside a single household or living unit are prohibited.

Those over the age of 70 and medically vulnerable people continue to be cocooned, however since May 5, those over the age of 70 can leave their home for exercise, as long as they stay within 5km of their home and socially distance themselves from everybody.

ALONE, the organisation that supports older people to age at home, is running a national support line for older people facing difficulties due to COVID-19. The support line is open every day from 8am to 8pm, call 0818 222 024.

For more information on COVID-19, click here.