There has now been a total of 1,810 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland, with 37,668 confirmed cases.
Of the 613 cases confirmed today:
- 315 are men / 294 are women
- 68 per cent are under 45 years of age
- 30 per cent are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 58 cases have been identified as community transmission
- 224 cases are in Dublin, 58 in Donegal, 46 in Cork, 44 in Kildare,31 in Limerick, 28 in Laois, 21 in Kerry, 19 in Galway, 17 in Clare, 13 in Meath, 12 in Louth, 12 in Monaghan, nine in Offaly, nine in Tipperary, nine in Wicklow, eight in Cavan, eight in Wexford, seven in Carlow, seven in Sligo, seven in Roscommon, six in Mayo, five in Kilkenny, five in Westmeath, with the remaining seven cases in three counties
Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: "The numbers being reported today and over the past week represent a significant escalation in the profile of Covid-19 in Ireland.
"For those aged 70+ and those who are medically vulnerable to Covid-19, it is strongly recommended that you should limit the number of people you meet to a very small core group of family members, carers or friends, for short periods of time, while remaining physically distant.
"We need to work together once again to make a significant impact on the number of cases in the community, and ultimately to reduce the number of people getting sick, being admitted to hospital and critical care, while protecting non-Covid healthcare services. I urge people in every county to follow the public health advice to stop the further spread of Covid-19.”
The news comes after NPHET chair Prof Philip Nolan warned that the public “should not ignore or dismiss” the rising numbers of cases.
Prof Nolan also warned that Ireland could see 1,3000 new Covid-19 cases a day by the end of October if infection rates continue on the current trajectory.
Northern Ireland has recorded more than 700 new Covid-19 infections in a 24-hour period.
A total of 726 new cases were confirmed by the North's department of health on Saturday – the second highest number in one day after a record high of 934 infections were reported on Friday.
There was one further death reported, taking the toll recorded by the department to 583.
