A further 13 Covid-19 deaths have been recorded in Northern Ireland hospitals over the past 24 hours.
The latest figures released by the Department of Health show that the death toll has now reached 263.
A further 1,006 tests were carried out on 858 patients since Wednesday, with an extra 142 positive cases.
There are now 3,016 positive cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey MLA, today praised council staff and local voluntary and community groups for enabling the delivery of more than 23,000 food packages to the most vulnerable in society during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister Hargey said: “My Department has led on this very important piece of work, however, it would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of a number of key partners including the Local Councils, Health Trusts, food suppliers and of course the Community and Voluntary Sector who are working at the grass roots of this crisis.
“These are very challenging times for all of us, however there are those in society who are facing the added pressure of self-isolating and some facing food insecurity and this service is absolutely vital in helping to alleviate that pressure.”
The food package service has been in operation since 7 April and was set up to help those most at risk of food insecurity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes those who are shielding having been contacted by their GPs, as well as people who are financially vulnerable or who may be experiencing difficulties physically accessing food.
The food packages are delivered to the Council hubs and, from there, are distributed by Council employees, often working with local voluntary and community organisations.
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