COVID-19 UPDATE: Number of cases rises by 74 to 366 as 475 die in Italy

There are now 366 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland after 74 people tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Dublin has the highest number of cases at 129, followed by Cork 48 and Limerick 14.

Schools in the North and England are to close on Friday while those in Wales and Scotland closed today.

Italy has reported 475 new coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest one-day toll of any nation to bring the total to 2,978, while France and the UK reported 89 and 104 new deaths respectively.

Earlier today, Penneys announced that it was closing its stores in Ireland after similar announcements by Brown Thomas and Arnotts.