2,000 Covid-19 deaths in NI a ‘harsh reminder we cannot be complacent’

Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann (Liam McBurney/PA)

The milestone of 2,000 Covid-19 deaths in Northern Ireland serves as a harsh reminder that the battle against the virus is far from over, the Health Minister has said.

The number of fatalities recorded by Stormont’s Department of Health reached 2,000 on Monday, after a further four Covid-19 linked deaths were confirmed.

The toll collated by the department focuses on deaths involving a positive diagnosis of Covid-19.

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) counts fatalities where coronavirus has been mentioned on a death certificate, even if a positive test result had not been confirmed.

The Nisra figure is therefore higher than the toll recorded by the department. It stood at 2,614 on February 5.

Commenting on the departmental toll milestone, Health Minister Robin Swann said: “We must not forget that behind every death will be a family left in grief.

“I want to extend my sincere condolences to every family mourning the loss of a loved one.

“Sadly, we know this virus has the potential to take more lives so it remains as important as ever to be vigilant and follow all the public health advice.

“Today serves as another harsh reminder that we cannot be complacent.”

Mr Swann hailed progress in rolling out Covid-19 vaccines in Northern Ireland but he warned people not to get ahead of themselves.

“As I have said before, this is a complex and long-term undertaking and it will be some time before the vaccination programme is rolled out to the majority of the population,” he said.

“I’m very aware of the sacrifices that the people of Northern Ireland have made over the course of the last year and the collective effort to make the current lockdown effective.

“We are now beginning to see the outworking of those sacrifices in a lowering of infection rates but again I must urge caution. We need to sustain this reduction in transmission to preserve life and support our health service.”