A FURTHER 539 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has said this evening.

In a statement, it said that a further 14 people confirmed to have Covid-19 had died.

Nine of these deaths occurred in March, one in February and four in January.

The median age of those who died was 80 years, while the age range was 59-94 years.

The death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland is 4,419, and the total number of confirmed cases is now at 222,699. 

Of the cases notified today:

• 295 are men / 240 are women
• 69% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 33 years old
• 245 in Dublin, 42 in Meath, 29 in Kildare, 26 in Limerick, 24 in Cork and the remaining 173 cases are spread across 19 other counties.

As of 8am today, 414 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 101 are in ICU. 22 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. 

As of 3 March, 474,645 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

• 328,598 people have received their first dose
• 146,047 people have received their second dose

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said earlier today that Ireland had reached the milestone of half a million coronavirus vaccines administered.