Sixteen more people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland bringing the overall death toll to 174.

A further 370 cases of the coronavirus have also been diagnosed in the Republic.

There are now 5,364 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said 11 of the 16 deaths took place in the east of the country, and five in the west.

The patients who died included six females and ten males. Four of the patients had underlying health conditions.

The median age of today's reported deaths is 78.

Of the overall number of deaths in the Republic, the median age is 81. And of the overall death toll, 114 were men and 60 were women.

Dr Holohan said he would expect to see further deaths from Covid-19.

Those who are still waiting to be tested for coronavirus are being told to remain in self-isolation but to seek medical assistance if they feel their condition is deteriorating.

Dr Holohan said he would be as "open and honest as possible" about whether restrictions on movement would be extended at the end of the week.

In Northern Ireland, seven more coronavirus-related deaths were announced today bringing the total number of fatalities in the region to 70.

There has also been 69 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in the North, bringing the total number of cases there to 1,158.

Around 80% of cases of Covid-19 will be a mild to moderate illness, close to 14% have severe disease and around 6% are critical.

Generally, you need to be 15 minutes or more in the vicinity of an infected person, within 1-2 metres, to be considered at-risk or a close contact.

Over 700,000 people relying on income supports

The number of people dependent on income supports has soared to over 700,000, according to the latest figures from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. 

Last Friday, payments were issued to 507,000 recipients of the €350 per week Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Support payment, which is up from 283,000 a week ago. 

These payments are in addition to the 207,000 people on the Live Register receiving "standard" non-Covid-19 - related Jobseeker's Benefit of €203.

This means that a total of 714,000 people are receiving income supports, with 507,000 signing on since 16 March when the Covid-19 pandemic payment was announced.

The department said all payments issued on Friday would be in recipients' bank accounts or at their local post office from tomorrow.

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Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government is ready to push the button on providing childcare to essential healthcare workers.

However, he said it needed public health clearance in order for this initiative to go ahead. 

Mr Varadkar said a number of proposals have been put together which were being considered by the National Public Health Emergency Team.

The Taoiseach said it was not an issue of money or staff available, it was an issue of public health clearance. 

He said this was something the Government really wanted to do and he said it was taking much longer than the Government would like.

The Health Service Executive has said the capacity to test for the coronavirus will be doubled from this week, to around 4,500 tests a day. 

A network of laboratories and 50 community test centres have been set up across the country. 

The HSE has said it has managed to secure a supply of reagent, which is a crucial component in the testing process, despite a global shortage. 

A German supplier is also now testing around 2,000 tests from Ireland a day.