The Department of Health has reported one further Covid-related death and 402 new cases.
The number of patients in hospital as of 8am this morning was 127, with 41 in ICU.
There was six additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
The Covid-related death toll now stands at 4,906 with a total of 249, 838 cases of the disease confirmed.
The cases of infection reported today involve 220 men and 182 women. 79% are under 45 years of age
The median age is 31.5-years-old
As of last Friday, 30 April, 1,572,779 doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been administered here.
1,130,958 of those were first doses, with 441,821 people having received their second dose.
In Northern Ireland, one further coronavirus-related death and 69 new cases have been reported during the past 24 hours.
Local lockdowns 'cannot be ruled out'
Minister of State Pippa Hackett has said the introduction of local lockdowns to tackle high incidences of Covid-19 in the community cannot be ruled out.
The minister made the comment on RTÉ's The Week In Politics.
It follows a virtual meeting last night involving Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, and local political and council representatives.
The meeting was called after figures from the National Public Health Emergency Team showed that Donegal had the highest incidence rate in the country at 293.4.
The national 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 is 127.3.
Senator Hackett said she believed the measures agreed between Mr Donnelly, Dr Holohan and Donegal TDs and senators yesterday will be able to drive down transmission rates in the county.
"It is Donegal this week. It could be another county or area in another few weeks".
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She said in her native Co Offaly they were able to reverse the trends on Covid-19 numbers and when it was on the list of high infections a few weeks ago, a walk-in test centre was opened to help address the issue.
She said the State needs to work with the people in Donegal and look at what can be done to support it, including a suggestion of rapid testing being done on a pilot basis in the county.
She also said: "We have to ask people in the county there to keep up vigilance".
Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said more vaccinations centres are needed in Donegal along with more walk-in test centres to help suppress the spread of the virus.
He also called for more support from the Government to assist in this effort. He said the challenge in Donegal, as it is anywhere across the island, is to hold it together.
He also said there is a requirement to start to look at how Ireland can recover from this crisis and to look at all of the issues, including housing and supporting people in business.
Social Democrats' Housing spokesperson, Cian O'Callaghan said the vaccination programme is "key" in terms of opening up and the Government strategy is taking the right direction in opening up outdoor activities first.
He believes when indoor activities reopen there is a strong need to look at ventilation. He does not think public health messaging around this has been strong enough.
Last full week of Level 5 restrictions
Meanwhile, the country is facing into its last full week under Level 5 restrictions ahead of the phased reopening of some businesses and services from tomorrow week.
Health officials are due to present a revised version of the vaccination plan to Government in the coming days.
The Health Service Executive expects the largest number of weekly vaccinations yet to be administered next week with a target of up to 240,000 doses.
Thirty-six vaccinations centres are open across the country with the HSE saying there are enough vaccinators in place for the planned rollout.
With the programme continuing down through the ages, the online portal for people aged 55-59 is set to open for vaccine registrations on Tuesday.
The HSE said the average lead-in time is about two weeks from when a patient registers to being called for a vaccination.
Testing is 'second line of defence'
CEO of the Health Service Executive Paul Reid has said that care needs to be taken not to stigmatise any particular location or people because of high Covid-19 numbers.
"Donegal is a very big county and like many counties has made really big sacrifices to get us where we are."
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, he said some parts of the country are below the national average rate but that there are some areas of concern.
He said there is already have a walk-in test site in Letterkenny and further walk-in sites will be considered based on the outcomes for testing capacity.
There are 35 static test centres around the country, he said, along with around six pop-up centres that are mobilised into areas of high transmission.
He said the important message for everyone is that testing is the second line of defence, and public health measures are the first line of defence. He said they are at a point of really good momentum with the national programme.
He said 1.59 million doses have been administered with 30% of the adult population receiving their first dose so far.
"In terms of April alone we would be well over 780,000 vaccines alone".
He said the HSE is looking towards May and June now and basing it on the latest National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) advice and the approach that will be taken with a revised plan.
"We are looking through the ages and profiles and how we review the new plan".
He said the HSE is going to continue down through ages and look at the supply of vaccines and utilise them all while taking into account certain factors.
"Supply lines, the age groups, is there a potential that one age group could be called in parallel with another?
"That would be fine to an extent. What would not be fine is dropping down through the ages, so for example, if you were still within the 50s and all of a sudden down in the 30s - that would not be good from a public health perspective as we know where the risk factors are".
He said there are constraints because of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) only being allowed to be used in the over 50s, not just as they progress through the ages but also in terms of maximising all channels, like pharmacies, as they scale up the vaccination programme.
Mr Reid said the HSE is looking at trying to get clarity on each of the suppliers with the four vaccines, delivery dates and how predictable they can be.
He said there has been a really "rocky" delivery, particularly with AstraZeneca. He said Janssen is a "new vaccine on the block" and they are waiting to see how that is in terms of delivery.
Mr Reid said the evidence is not clear yet on the duration of vaccines and when boosters are needed. He said they would welcome a strategic approach being taken at an EU level on this. He said also it would mean looking at how an annual vaccination programme would happen.
In relation to under-18s being vaccinated, Mr Reid said the HSE "will implement a plan once Government decides any policy issues".
