The Department of Health has said that 235 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed.

There has also been another 2 deaths in the Republic of Ireland

It brings the total number of cases in the Republic of Ireland to 1,564

There has been a total of 9 deaths

There have been two further deaths from Covid-19 in Northern Ireland bringing the total deaths to seven.

In its latest update the Public Health Agency says there were 37 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 following 383 tests. That brings the total cases in Northern Ireland to 209.

Northern Ireland's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Michael McBride, says he believes "many thousands" of people there have contracted coronavirus.

There are currently only 209 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.

At a press conference this afternoon, he said he believes the actual figure is much higher, and runs to "many thousands".

He said the health service north of the border will significantly increase its rate of testing next week, moving from around 40 per day to 1,000.

President Michael D Higgins has said Covid-19 will "change Ireland as a nation", and will "change the connection between economy and society."

President Higgins said "there will not be any distinction between the generations" that have experienced the impact of the coronavirus.

He said he "welcomes the fore fronting of ethics" in how Ireland has responded to help the more vulnerable members of Irish society.

He expects to see "a much better version of the economy. One where people are at the centre of it, and where monetary and fiscal policy is adjusted to the needs of the people rather than the people adjust to the whims of the economy."

It is wonderful to think that Irish people are taking their citizenship so seriously, President Higgins said, in relation to the number of medical professionals who are returning home to help in light of Covid-19.

He said the best way we can express our thanks to those who are on the frontline in Ireland's healthcare system is to follow the HSE guidelines on Covid-19.

New York City will begin closing streets to traffic and ban close contact sports in city parks to help combat the coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said today.

He called the street closures a pilot program and said sports like basketball would be banned in city parks, first on a voluntary basis as long as people comply, with rules agreed by New York City officials, the governor said.

Covid-19 has claimed more victims in New York than any other state. New York has reported 210 deaths and 25,667 cases, nearly half the 53,541 reported cases in the United States.

The European Centre for Disease Control has warned that summer heat is unlikely to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and every country in Europe is forecast to run out of intensive care beds by mid-April unless it acts fast.

The ECDC cited research which it said suggests that the virus does not become less dangerous in hot and humid conditions.

"There is no evidence to date that SARS-CoV-2 will display a marked winter seasonality, such as other human coronaviruses in the northern hemisphere," the ECDC said in a report, using the name for the novel virus that causes the Covid-19 disease.

The document cited preliminary analyses from the outbreak in China which found the virus was able to maintain high levels of reproduction in tropical places with high humidity, such as Guangxi and Singapore.

That "emphasises the importance of implementing intervention measures such as isolation of infected individuals, workplace distancing, and school closures," the agency said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is attempting to help more than 2,000 Irish citizens in 86 countries who are seeking assistance to return to Ireland.

It said we are "witnessing the biggest shutdown in global aviation since the dawn of commercial flight", eclipsing the volcanic ash crisis and shutdowns following 9/11.

It said the majority of Irish citizens seeking assistance are in Australia, with several hundred also in New Zealand.

It said entire regions have closed airspace in a "fast-moving and volatile" situation which has left many seeing the cancellation of previously confirmed flights.

The Department said we "we need to continue to take every seat possible on commercial"

It said citizens should contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate to update them on their situation and they should closely follow information provided on the Embassy Twitter account.