A further 38 people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic, bringing the total number of deaths here to 444.

Twenty-two males and 16 females died and of these, 28 had underlying health conditions.

Twenty-nine of the deaths occurred in the east, six in the west and three in the south.

A further 1,068 cases of the virus have also been confirmed - 657 by Irish laboratories and 411 by a laboratory in Germany.

This brings the total number of cases here to 12,547.

"We are continuing to monitor the course of this disease across a range of indicators, not only in the number of confirmed cases and deaths reported, but also through hospital and ICU admissions, clusters and patterns of transmission.

"While a number of these parameters are going in a positive direction, it is clear that we need to keep going in our efforts, on an individual level, to limit the spread of this virus," commented the Department of Health's chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) shows that of the 11,261 cases reported to it as of midnight on April 13, there were 413 clusters of the virus, involving 2,244 cases.

Some 1,968 people had been hospitalised and of these, 280 had been admitted to ICU.

Over 2,800 cases had been associated with healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, concern has been expressed about the low number of people presenting at Emergency Departments (EDs).

"There are still concerning reports that attendance to EDs is unusually low. This concerns us. Everyone should continue to seek medical intervention if concerned about their health.

"Do not ignore symptoms of illness because of fear of contracting COVID-19 or fear of imposition on healthcare staff. The health service is there for everyone and all medical concerns," commented Dr Siobhan Ni Bhriain, a consultant psychiatrist and HSE integrated care lead.

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.

Those over the age of 70 and medically vulnerable people are also being cocooned. For more information on this, click here.

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.