There have been 12 further Covid-related deaths reported in Northern Ireland, 11 of these occurring in the latest 24-hour period.
Two of those deaths occurred in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough with a further two also being reported in Mid-Ulster.
According to the official dashboard, there were a further 793 – down 679 – positive cases reported with 69 in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon. There were 40 positive cases in Newry, Mourne and Down while Mid-Ulster District recorded 34. Belfast had the highest with 157.
A total of 3,588 individuals were tested in that time.
There are 413 – a decrease of one – people in hospitals across Northern Ireland as a result of the virus, 46 – the same – of whom are in intensive care unit.
There are 89 – the same – Covid patients in the Southern Trust area, 70 of whom are in Craigavon Area Hospital. There are 11 patients in Daisy Hill and seven in South Tyrone Hospital.
There are currently nine ICU beds available in Northern Ireland.
The total number of deaths now stands at 2,385.
Hospital occupancy currently stands at 106% – a 2% decrease on yesterday – of capacity.
The Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area accounts for 322 deaths overall; Newry, Mourne and Down District accounts for 182 while Mid-Ulster has registered 222 deaths.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Robin Swann has launched a new ‘Pharmacy Collect’ service which enables people to collect rapid COVID-19 tests from selected community pharmacies.
“Alongside vaccination and contact tracing, testing is one of the main pillars of protection against the virus,” the Health Minister said.
“1 in 3 people who have COVID-19 have no symptoms, or are pre-symptomatic. The introduction of the Pharmacy Collect service will significantly increase the range of locations that people who require rapid tests can access them.
“The service supplements the existing workforce testing schemes and other community collect sites, which can all be found using the Sitefinder website.
“By engaging in rapid COVID testing, we can help keep each other safe and play our part in helping society return to normality.”
To date 420 pharmacies in Northern Ireland have signed up for the scheme.
Rapid COVID-19 tests – known as Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests – have an important role in detecting asymptomatic cases. This means people who are infected but are showing no symptoms and may be unwittingly passing the virus on to others. Testing twice a week and on a regular basis with LFDs increases their detection rate. LFD tests are effective at picking up those who are most infectious.
Rapid tests are available for anyone who requires them. All results should be reported. Where someone receives a positive test, they should immediately self-isolate and book a confirmatory PCR test.
Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer said: “The contribution of community pharmacy teams to the COVID-19 pandemic response has been invaluable and the introduction of the new Pharmacy Collect service will improve access to testing for the general public.
“This is another step forward to people getting their normal lives back. Many people with COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms, but they can continue to spread the virus. Rapid tests, in conjunction with the wearing of masks, regular hand washing and social distancing, can help to prevent onward transmission of the virus.”
