There have been 319 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures available.

The Department of Health says there are 60 people being treated in hospital with the virus, 23 of these in ICU.

However it says daily case numbers may change due to a future data review.

The five-day moving average stands at 325 - having fallen by nearly 100 in the past week.

It comes after HSE chief Paul Reid earlier said eight hospitals around the country had zero COVID patients.

He told Pat Kenny the benefits of the vaccine programme are clear to see.

"When you stand back from it all, just look at the benefits we are seeing across the board in Ireland from the vaccination programme,” he said.

"Significantly reduced hospitalisations – 59 this morning people COVID-positive in hospital; 23 people in ICU.

"We are hugely strengthening our herd immunity through the population. The society and economy is opening further, which is good for the health system.

"Public mood is up really good so we are seeing strong benefits from all of the vaccination programme across the board so I understand people saying it is taking too long but the vaccines all across the board are working strongly for us here in Ireland."

He added that 3.1 million vaccine doses have now been administered in Ireland, with 2.2 million people having received their first does.

Just over one-quarter of the adult population is now fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning that there is still a high risk of a resurgence in COVID-19 this autumn.

Dr Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the WHO, earlier told Newstalk Breakfast that we need to continue following the same public health measures even as more people are vaccinated.

"People instinctively when the weather gets better and everything starts to look a lot better say, well now we can relax," she said.

"But the critical thing is to relax with care, which sounds a bit crazy but is very doable.

"As the measures come down, and people have earned the right to open up societies and find a way to live carefully, keep the three Cs in mind - the avoiding of crowding, the avoiding of being in closed, confined spaces, and avoiding close contact while being in those enclosed spaces."

Dr Harris advised: "This summer, act as if the transmission is definitely there because the threat of that still remains.

"The difference [this year] is that we've got the vaccination but the vaccination doesn't end the pandemic, the pandemic will end when we have eliminated the circulation of the virus from our communities."