Three further deaths, 276 new Covid-19 cases reported in Northern Ireland

A man walks down a quiet street in Belfast city centre as the six-week lockdown in Northern Ireland continues. File Picture: PA

Three more Covid-19-related deaths have been confirmed by the Northern Ireland Department of Health this afternoon.

Two of the deaths occurred within the latest reporting period, while the other occurred outside it.

There has now been a total of 2,029 confirmed Covid-19-related deaths in NI since the outbreak began.

A further 276 new cases of the virus have also been confirmed.

A total of 110,716 cases have now been recorded in the North since the pandemic began.

The Department of Health #COVID19 dashboard has been updated.

276 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Sadly, a further 3 deaths have been reported (1 outside the reporting period).https://t.co/85rrZKpSkx pic.twitter.com/5l85lElgLl

— Department of Health (@healthdpt) February 20, 2021

2,070 cases have been reported in the last week alone, a drop from the previous week’s total of 2,554.

At present, 392 patients with Covid-19 are in Northern Irish hospitals, 142 of whom are in intensive care.

79 patients are using ventilators.

The latest Department of Health statistics show that hospital occupancy in the North now stands at 95%.

There are currently 47 coronavirus outbreaks at NI nursing homes.