There were 17 further Covid-related deaths reported by the Department of Health today (Monday).
Today’s stats – according to the official dashboard – take in the last 24 hours with 12 of the 17 passing away inside that period.
The overall total number of deaths recorded by the Department now stands at 1,747.
There were a further 422 positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, with 78 in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon – still the highest in NI – and a further 39 in Newry, Mourne and Down. There were 46 cases in Mid Ulster.
A total of 1,611 individuals were tested.
There are 828 – an increase of 34 – people now in hospital as a result of the virus, 74 of whom are in intensive care units.
There are currently 36 ICU beds available in Northern Ireland.
A total of 217 – five more – Covid patients are currently in hospitals in the Southern Trust area; 168 in Craigavon; 18 in Daisy Hill; 30 in Lurgan and one in South Tyrone.
The latest figures come as NI Finance Minister Conor Murphy says almost £300m in funding to tackle Covid-19 pressures remains unspent by Stormont.
Mr Murphy said he had asked departments to submit new bids as a “matter of urgency”.
Speaking in the assembly on Monday, Mr Murphy said Stormont had received “late notice” of additional funding from the treasury.
“We never had any notice of what the totality of funding would be yet we did manage to allocate all of it – what we’re dealing with now is returned money from departments of what they haven’t managed to spend,” he said.
