A further 10 patients with COVID-19 (coronavirus) have died in the Republic, bringing the total number of deaths here to 46.

Eight men and two women died, with six of these deaths located in the east of the country, three in the north west and one in the south.

The average age of those who died was 77 years.

Meanwhile, a further 200 new cases of the virus have also been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases here to 2,615.

The Department of Health's chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, offered his condolences to the family and friends of all of those who have died as a result of COVID-19.

He said that the enhanced restrictions announced on Friday "aim to slow down and restrict the spread of the virus".

"We know the virus will not survive if we prevent it from passing among ourselves. We are asking everyone to embrace the new restrictions and follow public health advice to stay home and restrict your movements for the next two weeks. It is in all our hands to interrupt the spread of this virus," he commented.

The department's deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, took this opportunity to remind people that blood donation clinics are still running.

"I welcome the measures taken by the Irish Blood Transfusion Board to implement social distancing at their clinics and to maintain the blood supply.

"Three-thousand blood donations are needed every week to meet demand and the ready availability of this blood for transfusion is vital to the daily treatment of patients in our hospitals," he noted.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre shows that of the 2,216 cases reported to it as of midnight on March 27, the average age of confirmed cases was 47 years and 564 people had been hospitalised. Of these, 77 had been admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).

While just 44 cases of the virus had been confirmed in children up to the age of 14, 755 cases have been confirmed in people over the age of 55.

In Northern Ireland, the death toll has reached 21, after six new deaths were confirmed today. The number of confirmed cases there is now 410.

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.

New restrictions in relation to COVID-19 are now in place until April 12. Until then, 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.

For more information on COVID-19, click here.