A further four people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic, bringing the total number of deaths here to 1,608.

Meanwhile, 57 new cases of the virus have also been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases here to 24,639.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has shown that of the 24,569 cases reported by midnight on May 22, 3,222 have been hospitalised and of these, 394 have been admitted to ICU.

Some 7,819 cases are associated with healthcare workers, while Dublin continues to have the highest number of cases in the country - 11,873 - which is 48% of all cases.

Earlier, the HSE chief executive, Paul Reid, said that 51 people were currently in ICU being treated for COVID-19, which is almost 70% lower when compared to the peak in early April.

Some 310,000 tests have been completed, the vast majority of which have been negative.

Mr Reid also acknowledged that if social distancing was reduced from two metres, as currently recommended, to one metre, this would create greater capacity within the health service. However, he insisted that the HSE will be guided on this by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

Phase 1 of the Government's Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business is now in place. For more information on this, click here.