THE DEPARTMENT OF Health has announced a further 16 people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland and 370 more cases have been confirmed this evening.

There are now a total of 5,364 confirmed cases in Ireland and 174 people have died from Covid-19.

11 of the people who died in the past day from Covid-19 were from the east of the country, four from the north-west and one in the west.

Ten of those who died were male and six were female. Four of the patients who died had underlying health conditions.

The median age of those confirmed to have died today was 78. The median age of all confirmed cases of Covid-19 at the moment is 49.

Dublin has the highest number of confirmed cases of any county with 2,692 – 55% of all cases. Cork has 362 cases – 7% of total – the second highest of any county.

Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 65%, close contact accounts for 23% and travel abroad accounts for 12%.

The figures were released at a briefing with members of the National Public Health Emergency Team this evening.

Chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan has warned that the coming week will be crucial in the fight against the rising number of cases in Ireland.

Out of the 175 people with Covid-19 who have been admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU), 33 people have been discharged and an additional 20 people died in ICU. The median age of those admitted to ICU with Covid-19 is 61.

Holohan confirmed this evening that 26% of healthcare workers with Covid-19 were infected in a healthcare setting.

There are 99 nursing home clusters identified around the country at the moment, Dr Tony Holohan said.

Research has been conducted on behalf of the Department of Health into the public attitude to the pandemic.

The research has found that 20% of people are stockpiling at the moment, a reduction from the peak of 43% in mid-March.

86% of people believe that current government restrictions are “about right”, according to the research.

Over the weekend, the HSE said it was aiming to increase the number of people tested for Covid-19 to 4,500 a day this week, after it dropped as low as 1,500 a day for a period last week.

- With reporting by Stephen McDermott, at the Department of Health, and Orla Dwyer