No further Covid-19 deaths and 417 positive cases

A further 417 positive cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said.

There were no deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

On Tuesday morning there were 37 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of who five were in intensive care.

Northern Ireland's hospital system is operating at 104% - or 120 beds beyond capacity.

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To date 2,079,758 vaccines have been administered in Northern Ireland.

There have been 2,883 cases over the past seven days, up from 1,700 the previous week. The seven day rate per 100,000 is 152.2, the highest rate since February 8th.

Meanwhile, in the Republic there have been an additional 397 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

As of 8am today there were 54 people in hospitals with the disease, of whom 16 were in intensive care units.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, said: "We are seeing a small but concerning increase in hospitalisations in recent days, coming 10-14 days after the five day moving average of daily case numbers began to increase.

"This is a cause for concern and we will be monitoring it closely in the days and weeks ahead. Full vaccination is needed to protect against Covid-19, including the Delta variant.

"To protect yourselves and your loved ones, it is extremely important to take up the opportunity of being vaccinated and come forward for your second dose as soon as it is offered to you.

"The second vaccination is very effective at preventing both disease and hospitalisation."