Numbers of new Covid cases across Ireland remain high with another 5,471 new cases confirmed today.
There are now 579 people in hospital with the virus with 122 of those in intensive care.
Almost one fifth of cases identified in the past fortnight were in children of primary school age.
The Government today moved to restrict social interaction between children in a bid to stop the spread in these age groups.
Of the 61,659 cases in the last two weeks, 11,702 cases or 19% were in those aged 5-12 years.
A further 11,087, or 19%, were in those aged 35-44 years. The average age of cases overall was 33 years.
The 14-day national incidence of the disease was over 1,294 cases for every 100,000 people.
