Another 23 women and 18 men have died after being diagnosed with Covid-19, the National Public Health Emergency Team reported on Saturday evening.

Of the 41 latest victims, 35 deaths occurred in the east of the country, four were in the west and two were in the north west.

Their median age was 83, and 35 of them were reported as having underlying health conditions.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, reiterated a focus on testing in community residential centres including nursing homes in the days and weeks ahead.

“This sector remains a priority for our focused attention and we will continue to monitor and support them through this outbreak,” he said.

The latest reported deaths brings the pandemic’s toll in the Republic to 571.

Of those, 326 - or 57 per cent - were men, while 245 - or 43 per cent - were women, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

Youngest victim

The youngest victim so far was 23 years old while the oldest was 105. The median age of all those who have died so far after contracting the coronavirus is 83.

Some 330 of the fatalities had been admitted to hospital, and 46 of them were treated in intensive care units.

A further 778 people have tested positive for the disease on Saturday, according to results from laboratories in both Ireland and Germany, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak began to 14,758.

The Health Service Executive said it is working to identify any contacts the confirmed cases may have had, to provide them with advice on preventing the further spread of the virus.

As of midnight on Thursday, 55 per cent of confirmed cases were women, while 44 per cent were men. The median age of confirmed cases is 48 years.

Among the overall number, 454 clusters have been identified involving 2,964 cases.

Some 2,168 cases - or 16 per cent - of confirmed cases have resulted in the patient being hospitalised.

Of those, 296 patients have been treated in an intensive care unit.

Travel abroad

Almost a quarter of all confirmed cases have been healthcare workers.

Half of all cases have been in Dublin, while Cork accounts for 7 per cent.

Where the cause of transmission is known, more than half (52 per cent) were infected in the community, while most of the rest (43 per cent) contracted the virus from someone close to them.

Travel abroad accounts for 5 per cent of known transmission cases.