A further 3,685 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland today.

This morning, there were 444 patients in hospital, with 74 in intensive care, the latest figures show.

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has urged people to ‘feel empowered to leave’ if they are in environments including where they are not asked for their Covid cert.

Urging the importance of following public health advice on hand washing and mask wearing, he said: “If you are in an environment where you’re not asked for your Covid cert or where hand washing facilities are not present, or mask wearing is not as it should be – you should look at that as a riskier environment than it should be, and you should feel empowered to leave. "

He said that we need to continue to focus on the importance of basic hand washing, wearing of masks, social distancing, recognising risk environments and being aware of the kinds of activities that we’re involved in that do constitute a higher risk of transmission.

"If you socialise, be mindful of your contacts in the days after, especially consider anyone you may meet who may be immunocompromised or vulnerable to Covid-19,” Dr Holohan said.

“If you haven’t yet been vaccinated, or if it’s time for your booster, please ensure to come forward for that vaccine.

"Our individual behaviour and adherence to all the basic public health advice that we are so familiar with has worked over the course of this pandemic,” he added.

Yesterday a total of 3,903 Covid-19 cases were reported which Dr Holohan described as “very concerning” and a stark reminder that the virus is highly contagious.