THERE have been three further deaths in Northern Ireland from Covid-19.
The deaths bring the total number of confirmed Covid fatalities to 2,173.
The department also recorded another 1,473 new cases of infection yesterday, up from 639 cases the previous day.
The figures come as the number of people being treated for Covid in the north's hospitals continues to rise.
On Tuesday, there were a total of 243 Covid inpatients across all health trust areas.
This was an increase of 35 from the previous day.
Among inpatients, there are now 29 receiving treatment in intensive care wards - a rise of four from Monday.
In the Republic, new cases of coronavirus infection rose by 1,120, a decrease from the previous day's 1,345.
Meanwhile the north's Covid-19 certification service, which provides digital proof of coronavirus vaccination, has been temporarily interrupted after a technical fault saw some users presented with data related to other users.
A Department of Health spokesman said it was aware "a limited number of users in limited circumstance may be presented with data relating to other users".
"The Department of Health takes the privacy of citizens data very seriously and contact has been made with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as part of due diligence in protecting citizen's data.
"Immediate action has also been taken to temporarily remove a part of the service that manages identity."
Many users will not be affected by the interruption, and those who have already been issued with a certificate can still use them.
Others will face delays accessing electronic versions of their certificates and some will find their accounts on the NIDirect website locked, pending the resolution of the technical issue.