By Digital Desk Staff
There has been one further death and 318 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in the Republic this evening.
There are fewer than 5 new cases in Waterford. The 14-day incidence rate locally is now 157.5 after 183 cases were confirmed here during the last fortnight.
Nationally the number of new cases confirmed each day has refused to dip below the one hundred mark, with the decrease seen from highs of more than 1,000 daily cases plateauing as of late.
The figures come as the country holds its breath ahead of an upcoming Government announcement on the restrictions set to be in place over the Christmas period.
Public health chiefs have warned the progress in bringing down levels of the virus made during lockdown has stalled and say the next two weeks will be critical.
Coalition party leaders will meet on Monday, in an attempt to formulate a plan to exit the current lockdown and manage the pandemic over the Christmas period.
Meanwhile, the death toll linked to the disease has continued to rise on the island as a further 10 people with Covid-19 were confirmed to have died in Northern Ireland on Sunday.
The North has battled a recent surge in the virus that has placed hospitals under pressure, with daily case numbers also remaining stubbornly in the hundreds.
New analysis of Covid-19 data from across the island shows Northern Ireland has much higher rates of infection than the Republic.
Confirmed case numbers from electoral areas in the South and postcode areas in the North give an indication of how the disease is spreading in communities on both sides of the Border.
