A further 14 people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic, bringing the total number of deaths here to 334.

Eight males and six females died and altogether, 10 had underlying health conditions. Twelve of these deaths occurred in the east of the country and two in the west.

An additional 430 new cases of the virus have also been reported by Irish laboratories, along with an additional 297 cases reported by a laboratory in Germany, bringing the total number of cases here to 9,655.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre shows that of the 8,496 cases reported to it as of midnight, April 10, there were 383 clusters involving 1,653 cases.

A total of 1,777 people had been hospitalised and of these, 261 had been admitted to ICU.

Some 2,312 cases were associated with healthcare workers, and Dublin accounted for 53% of all cases.

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.

*Pictured is the HSE's COVID-19 testing centre at Croke Park, Dublin