FOUR more deaths resulting from Covid-19 have been recorded in the north by the Department of Health.
Thursday's deaths take the confirmed total of Northern Irish deaths linked to the virus to 2,332.
The department also revealed a further 1,550 new cases of infection - a drop of 221 from Wednesday. The new infections push the confirmed case total since the pandemic began to 193,558.
Meanwhile, the Republic had the highest number of inpatients in intensive care units (ICU) at hospitals yesterday since the beginning of April.
Sixty-one patients were receiving ICU treatment in southern hospitals, out of a Covid inpatient total of 331 people. In the north yesterday, there were 41 ICU patients, and 376 Covid inpatients in total.
Dr Tony Holohan, the Republic's Chief Medical Officer, said the ICU figure "will concern many of us", adding: "Critical care is our last line of defence against Covid-19."
Yesterday it was revealed another 1,866 cases were recorded in the Republic, where to date 5,092 people are confirmed to have died.
Dr Holohan said vaccinations continued to be the best means of protecting people from Covid, and the latest data from the Republic shows more than 6,700,000 vaccine shots have been administered in the south.
"There are still some people who haven't yet taken up the opportunity of vaccination or, who have delayed receiving a second dose for various reasons," he said.
"I strongly encourage anyone who is in this position to ensure they get fully vaccinated as soon as possible in order to best protect themselves and those around them."
In the north, there has been a total of 2,428,676 vaccines administered to date, with 1,153,122 people now having had their second required jab.
