There's a huge increase this evening in the number of new Covid-19 cases in Galway and Mayo.

The Department of Health has reported an additional 46 deaths related to the virus - two of which occurred last month and the remaining deaths this month.

There have also been 3,086 new cases reported this evening- Galway is topping the list with 604 cases, 574 in Dublin and 466 in Mayo.

1692 Covid patients are in hospital, while a record 158 people are in intensive care.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan says the large increase in deaths reflects the "recent surge of infections" over recent weeks.