Northern Ireland

Coronavirus: No deaths as 149 new cases recorded in Northern Ireland

Another 149 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the north
Another 149 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the north Another 149 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the north

There have been a further 149 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland in the last 24-hour reporting period, the Department of Health has said.

This brings the total number of cases in the north to 8,780, including 689 in the last seven days.

No further deaths from Covid-19 were reported today, leaving the death toll recorded by the department standing at 573.

In the north's hospitals, 36 patients have tested positive for coronavirus with four in intensive care and three on ventilation.

There are 25 outbreaks in care homes and a further nine suspected outbreaks.

New restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 in certain postcodes in the north have now become legally enforceable.

The measures were announced last Thursday to help prevent the spread of the virus in Belfast, Ballymena and BT28, BT29 and BT43.

They will be in force for two weeks, with Health Minister Robin Swann stressing he would "not hesitate" to extend them across other postcodes.

Yesterday Mr Swann said the north was "on a knife edge", adding that while he "certainly didn't want to return to full lockdown" he would not "sit on his hands" while rates continued to rise.

The restrictions allow no more than six people to gather in a private garden from no more than two households and rule out any mixing of households in private dwellings, with some exceptions.

One further Covid-19 death has been reported in the Republic of Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team said.

There have been 240 new cases of the virus confirmed in the last 24-hour reporting period, 119 of which were in Dublin.

The fatality takes Ireland’s coronavirus death toll to 1,789.

There have been a total of 32,023 confirmed cases of Covid-19.