There have been a further 77 coronavirus-related deaths in the Republic.
It brings the total number of deaths here to 687.
Today's number of deaths is the highest number confirmed in a single day to date.
Dr Tony Holohan said that while the 77 deaths were all only notified to officials and reported today, they did not all occur in the same period of time.
401 more cases have also been confirmed this evening, meaning the total number of confirmed cases here now stands at 15,652.
67 of the deaths happened in the east, four in the west, four in the north-west and two in the south.
The people who died included 32 males and 44 females (the gender was not specified in one case), and the median age of today’s reported deaths is 84.
54 of the patients were reported as having had underlying health conditions.
As of midnight on Saturday, the median age of the coronavirus-related deaths in the Republic was 83.
A total of 306 patients had been admitted to ICU with COVID-19 as of Saturday, while 4,009 of the more than 15,000 confirmed cases were associated with healthcare workers.
Earlier today, it was revealed that more than one million people are receiving some sort of State income support amid the impact from the COVID-19 crisis.
