There have been 269 new coronavirus cases announced this evening alongside 18 further deaths.
Of the deaths announced, one happened in October, 15 happened in November and two are still “under investigation.”
Of the new cases announced this evening, 73 are in Dublin, 20 are in Kilkenny, 20 in are Limerick, 19 are in Louth, 19 are in Tipperary.
The remaining 118 are spread across 20 other counties.
The national 14-day rate of the virus now stands at 87 cases per 100,000 people.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the reopening of shops, hairdressers, gyms and golf courses is “down to the hard work and sacrifices that have been made by people over the last six weeks.”
“It is up to every person, individually, to remain vigilant to the spread of this disease, to assess the risk that is involved in any social activity,” he said.
“We need to keep the public health advice at the centre of our minds and do not have visitors to our homes, outside of any necessary visitors in a support bubble, until the 18th of December.
“Each one of us has a role in shaping the national picture on COVID-19 in the coming weeks.
“It is vital that you keep hand washing, wear face coverings and keep a two metre distance from each other, to protect public health, to protect vital public services and to give us the best chance to continue to minimise the spread of the disease.”
Ireland's national 14-day coronavirus rate per 100,000 peopleThe national 14-day rate of the virus now stands at 87 cases per 100,000 people.
Donegal still has the highest 14-day rate in the country at 211.1 per 100,000 people, followed by Louth on 183.1, Kilkenny on 148.1, Limerick on 132.9 and Monaghan on 104.3.
Of the 75,280 tests carried out in the Republic over the past week, 2.7% have come back positive.
