COVID-19 UPDATE: A further 27 pass away as global death toll reaches 270,000

A further 27 people lost their lives from Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland in the last 24 hours, the HSE said this evening.

The total death toll here is now 1,429 while the number of confirmed cases has now reached 22,541 after another 156 were diagnosed.

The total number of deaths in Northern Ireland has reached 427 after five more people died overnight, according to Public Health Agency figures.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 has killed more than 270,000 people worldwide since it emerged in China in December, with over 85% of deaths in Europe and America, new figures show.

In total, there have been 270,927 deaths from 3,877,772 confirmed cases, with Europe having 153,367 deaths, followed by the US at 75,781 and Britain with 31,241.