Department of Health says close to 1.7m people wearing face masks

Almost 1.7 million people are now reporting wearing face masks in public spaces.

That's based on latest data from the Department of Health, which shows an increase of 6% on last week.

Wearing face coverings isn't mandatory in Ireland, but it's recommended in situations where a two-metre distance is hard to maintain.

No Covid-19 deaths were reported yesterday, while a further 18 cases were confirmed.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn says the small increase in the numbers wearing face coverings is encouraging, but he'd like to see even more people wearing them in public.

"We know obviously 34% isn't where we want to be, 28% wasn't where we want to be, but we're going in the right direction.

"It's hoped that more people will wear the coverings in the appropriate settings.

"If you're going to be somewhere, a closed space where you can't be sure that you're going to be two metres away from everyone in that closed space, then you should have a covering with you and put it on before you go on that public transport or into that shop."