Two more patients with Covid-19 have died, and 156 people have tested positive for the virus.

There were positive tests in 21 counties all over the republic -- with the largest numbers in Dublin and Kildare.

Of the cases confirmed today, 55 were recorded in Dublin and 36 in Kildare -- now the only county under a stricter level of lockdown.

There were twelve positive tests in Tipperary, nine in Limerick, seven in Kilkenny and six in Waterford.

The 31 others are spread across fifteen other counties in all four provinces, including Roscommon and Galway.

71 per cent are among patients under the age of 45, with just over two thirds, 68 per cent, confirmed to be linked to known outbreaks or close contacts of other confirmed cases.

People are being warned again to stick rigidly to the lower six-person limit for guests in their home this weekend.

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn says anyone with symptoms of the disease, including a dry cough, tiredness, or a fever,  needs to isolate themselves and phone their GP "immediately".

27,908 people here are now known to have contracted Covid-19 since the pandemic broke out.

The death toll is now 1,777