There have been no further Covid-related deaths reported by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland today (Friday).
That’s according to the official dashboard, where the overall total number of deaths recorded by the Department still stands at 2,152.
The Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area accounts for 285 deaths overall. Newry, Mourne and Down District accounts for 166 deaths while Mid-Ulster has registered 206 deaths.
There were a further 84 – down six – positive cases reported in the last 24 hours with 12 in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon. There were 15 – the highest in NI – in Newry, Mourne and Down and Mid-Ulster District recorded nine in that time.
A total of 2,737 individuals were tested.
There are 34 – down three – people in hospitals across Northern Ireland as a result of the virus, two of whom are in intensive care units.
Currently, there are four Covid patients in hospitals across the Southern Trust area – two of whom are in Craigavon.
There are currently 28 ICU beds available in Northern Ireland.
The latest figures come on a day where south Armagh MLA – and Finance Minister – Conor Murphy said he believed “it’s the end of the restrictions as we have seen them”.
“Even in the modelling we have seen, in the worst case scenario the health service can continue to cope, albeit it needs ongoing support,” he told BBC NI’s Good Morning Ulster.
“Of course we can’t, with a huge degree of accuracy, project into the future, we know there are other variants out in the world, we know they are having an impact in other places, we have to continue to protect ourselves and that’s why the message remains that Covid is still with us.”
