A further 31 people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic, bringing the total number of deaths here to 1,190.

Meanwhile, the number of cases here has now exceeded 20,000, after 376 new cases were confirmed. A total of 20,253 people are now confirmed to have the virus.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has shown that of the 19,723 cases confirmed to it as of midnight on April 27, healthcare workers accounted for 28% of all cases and overall, 355 people have been admitted to ICU.

According to the Department of Health's chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, data up to last Saturday shows that over 12,200 people have recovered from the virus in the community, i.e. they did not need to be in hospital, while 1,164 people have been discharged from hospital. This gives a total recovery rate of 70%.

However, he said that if he had to make a recommendation about easing restrictions today, he would not recommend easing them.

The current restrictions run until May 5.

Earlier, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, also said that while he hopes to shortly set out the steps needed to ease restrictions and reopen the country, he does not believe, as things stand, that the current restrictions should be eased.

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.

Restrictions in relation to COVID-19 are now in place until May 5. As part of these restrictions, everybody is being 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 2km of your home.

All public and private gatherings of any number of people outside a single household or living unit are prohibited, while those over the age of 70 and medically vulnerable people are also being cocooned.

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.