41 more deaths confirmed as Covid-19 death toll rises in Ireland

A further 41 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 in Ireland, bringing the death toll to 406. The harrowing figures were confirmed by the Department of Health this evening.

The number of people diagnosed with the virus has also risen with 548 new cases being confirmed. An additional 284 cases were also confirmed by a German laboratory, which is currently sorting through a backlog of Irish swabs.

There were approximately 10,000 swabs waiting to be processed by the German labs. Health Minister Simon Harris says he hopes they will be cleared by the end of the week. It is understood that some of the swabs date back to mid-March.

There are now 11, 479 cases confirmed.

It is believed restrictions and social distancing will remain in place beyond May 5 as cases continue to rise. On Easter Sunday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stressed that we must continue to follow the government’s Covid-19 measures as there are darker days ahead of us.