Northern Ireland

Covid-19 outbreak at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital

One patient and five members of staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast
One patient and five members of staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast One patient and five members of staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast

One patient and five members of staff in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital have tested positive for Covid-19.

The outbreak is on a cardiology ward in the hospital and it is understood that the positive tests were confirmed over the past two weeks.

Testing is ongoing within the hospital and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have said one patient is self-isolating but no staff have been advised to do so following the outbreak.

Last week it was reported that 18 members of staff on a stroke ward at Derry's Altnagelvin Hospital were self-isolating after three tested positive for the virus.

A total of nine patients have died following coronavirus outbreaks in Daisy Hill and Craigavon Area Hospitals.

Yesterday 320 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Northern Ireland, the highest number of daily number recorded by the Department of Health since the pandemic began.