The number of cases of COVID-19 has exceeded 70,000 in the Republic, after 344 more cases were confirmed.

The number of cases now stands at 70,143.

Four more deaths were also recorded, brining the total number of deaths here to 2,022.

Of the 344 confirmed cases, 127 occurred in Dublin, 46 in Cork, 26 in Louth, 22 in Donegal and 20 in Limerick.

As of 2pm on Saturday, there were 269 people in hospital with confirmed COVID, 32 of whom were in ICU. There had been 12 additional hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 of the population in the 14 days up to midnight on November 20 was 113.3 nationally. However nine counties were above this national average, with Donegal the worst affected, at 255 per 100,000, followed by Limerick (218.1) and Louth (201.7).

The counties with the lowest 14-day incidence rate were Wexford (39.4), Galway (62) and Wicklow (68.8).

Earlier on Saturday, 357 new cases of the virus were confirmed in Northern Ireland, brining the total number of cases there to 49,442. A further 10 deaths were also reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 923.

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