Three more people in Ireland who tested postive for Covid-19 have died.
A patient aged in their late sixties, who had underlying health conditions, died in a hospital in the greater Belfast area.
Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann said: "My heart goes out to the loved ones of this patient.
"This is the third tragic announcement of this kind I have had to make in recent days.
"The lethal threat from this virus is very real and we all have to do everything we can to combat it."
British prime minister Boris Johnson tonight put the UK on lockdown with citizens told only to leave their homes for essential reasons.
Two patients died in the Republic, it was confirmed yesterday. Both were male and in the east of the country.
The south's Department of Health said it was not aware whether they had underlying medical conditions.
It brings to nine the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Ireland – six people in the south and three in the north.
Twenty new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to 148.
In the Republic there were 219 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,012.
First Minister Arlene Foster warned there would be a "wave of deaths" if people did not abide by social distancing rules.
Draconian restrictions on movement are set to be introduced in N Ireland within days.
She addressed the issue alongside Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at their daily Covid-19 press conference at Stormont.
DUP leader Mrs Foster said: "This really is a matter of life or death.
"If people don't follow the guidelines the coronavirus will spread, it will surge and result in a wave of deaths as our hospitals come under intense pressure to deal with the amount of cases coming through their doors."
Ms O'Neill, who earlier broke down in the assembly chamber as she fielded questions about the crisis, accused those disregarding the social distancing advice of effectively "killing people".
The Sinn Féin vice-president acknowledged people would be scared about the prospect of a lockdown.
"People should be assured that every single thing that we are doing is about protecting lives and the powers that we seek are quite draconian powers but they are necessary in order to get us through an emergency situation," she said.
Stormont's leaders again urged people not to stockpile food and said progress had been made to secure extra personal protection equipment (PPE) for healthcare staff.
