HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed a further 34 people diagnosed with Covid-19 have died in Ireland, and there are 221 new cases of the disease. 

There have now been 1,265 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland and a total of 20,833 confirmed cases in the country since the start of the outbreak.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is set to outline a roadmap for lifting Covid-19 restrictions this evening. 

A phased approach to doing so, however, is unlikely to kick in immediately despite speculation that some measures might be eased today. 

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) as of midnight Wednesday reveals:

•  58% are female and 42% are male;
• The median age of confirmed cases is 49 years;
• 2,768 cases (13%) have been hospitalised;
• Of those hospitalised, 367 cases have been admitted to ICU;
• 5,840 cases are associated with healthcare workers.

Dublin continues to have the highest number of cases (10,170), followed by Kildare with 1,215 cases and Cork with 1,154 cases. 

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Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 63%, close contact accounts for 33% and travel abroad accounts for 3%.