Northern Ireland

Coronavirus: No new deaths in Northern Ireland for third consecutive day

There have been no coronavirus-related deaths in the north for the third consecutive day
There have been no coronavirus-related deaths in the north for the third consecutive day There have been no coronavirus-related deaths in the north for the third consecutive day
By Digital Staff

No new deaths related to coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland for the third day in a row.

The number of people who have died since the pandemic hit the north remains at 537, according to figures released by the Department of Health.

Daily figures released by the department mainly cover coronavirus fatalities in hospital.

Only three new cases of the virus were discovered from 702 people that were tested.

The figures were released after a leading researcher in the Republic said the Dublin government should adopt Covid-19 measures that will stamp out all active cases.

It comes after more than 1,000 scientists and researchers called for the government to suppress coronavirus rather than learning to live with the virus under a long-term mitigation strategy.

Yesterday, New Zealand's health officials said there were no longer any known active cases of Covid-19 in the country.

[ READ MORE: Pace of recovery accelerates with reopening of shops in the north ]

Anthony Staines, professor of health systems at Dublin City University (DCU), said the Republic should aim to do the same.

"How we do that is we start from where we are in releasing the lockdown and we encourage people to wear masks," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

"We put a lot of emphasis on getting testing and tracing of contacts running really fast. We have made a lot of progress but we're not there yet."