THIRTEEN patients are understood to be on ventilators in Northern Ireland battling coronavirus.
There has also been a fall in the number of people being treated for the virus in intensive care units in the north, according to the Department of Health online dashboard.
It is understood that the number of people being treated for Covid-19 in an intensive care unit dropped from 18 to 13 in just 24 hours.
It is believed that the 13 patients are on ventilators.
The most seriously ill Covid-19 patients had been treated at Belfast's Nightingale Hospital, which was opened in the tower block of Belfast City Hospital last month.
It received its first ventilated patient on April 1 and treated more than 100 patients during its time in operation.
Stormont health minister Robin Swann last week said Belfast's Nightingale Hospital had once treated 30 people in intensive care beds.
But the final patient was discharged from the Nightingale on Tuesday and the 230-bed facility has been temporarily stood down.
But it will remain available for use in the future should it be needed.
Patients treated at the Nightingale included those who needed mechanical and non-invasive ventilation, which requires extra staff support.
But patients not requiring ventilation have been treated at their local acute hospital, where intensive care including ventilation was also available in most cases.
