A further 52 people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic and 377 new cases of the virus have been confirmed.

According to the Department of Health, the number of deaths here is now 1,063, after three deaths previously classed as COVID deaths were denotified.

There are now a total of 18,561 cases of the virus here.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre shows that of the 17,420 cases reported to it as of midnight on April 23, 2,536 cases had been hospitalised and of these, 344 had been admitted to ICU.

Some 4,847 cases were associated with healthcare workers.

Earlier, the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, reiterated calls urging people not to become complacent between now and May 5, when the current restrictions are expected to be amended.

He warned that if the chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, was today making a decision about relaxing certain restrictions, he would advise against it.

Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ Radio today, Prof Sam McConkey of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI), warned that it would be "premature" to stop social distancing now despite the reduction in the R0 (r nought) of the virus.

The R0 represents how many people the average person with the virus is likely to infect in a completely susceptible population. The higher the R0, the faster the disease spreads. For example, an R0 of three means that each person with the virus is likely to infect three others. An R0 of one means they are likely to infect one other person.

Ireland has managed to lower this number to below 1.0 in the community, which effectively means it is suppressed. However, this R0 could rise quickly again.

Prof McConkey warned that while it is below 1.0 in the community, it could be higher in other settings, such as residential care centres.

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.