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DUBLIN, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Another ten people died from COVID-19 in Ireland while 255 new cases of the coronavirus infection were confirmed in the country on Thursday, according to the Department of Health.

Thursday's numbers of new deaths and cases were both new highs in a single day since the outbreak of the disease in the country at the end of last month, according to the tallies from the health department.

To date, there have been 19 COVID-19-related deaths and 1,819 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, the health department said in a statement.

The ten new deaths reported on Thursday were seven males and three females, with a median age of 79, said the statement, adding that nine out of the ten deceased came from the east of Ireland with the remaining one from the south.

In another development, a new emergency legislation tabled by the Irish government is being debated at the lower house of the parliament. Once signed into law by the Irish president, the new law will give the government extra powers to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

Minister for Health Simon Harris on Thursday announced that student nurses in the country will be paid for their work in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, a decision believed to be taken by the government to tackle the serious shortage of medical staff.