Health officials say a further six COVID-19 patients have died in Ireland and five new cases have been confirmed.

It takes the death toll here to 1,726 and the number of confirmed cases 25,396.

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that, as of midnight on Sunday, 92% of the people who have been diagnosed with the virus have now recovered.

“Through our collective action, we have moved in the right direction in our fight against widespread community transmission of COVID-19,” he said.

“As we go forward, the behaviour and progression of this disease is in all of our hands.

“Every single one of us today has the ability to reduce the impact the virus might have on our most vulnerable and those at risk.

“You can do this by keeping a physical distance from others or wearing a face covering when in busy public places like shops and public transport and by continuing to keep your number of daily contacts as low as possible.”

It comes after the INMO yesterday told the Dáil COVID-19 committee that 4,823 healthcare workers that contracted the virus are still sick.

The figure would make up nearly 19% of the country’s confirmed cases.