Another four coronavirus deaths in Northern Ireland, as weekly cases near 12,000

That brings the total number of fatalities recorded by the Stormont department since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,873.

In the past seven days, the death toll reported by the department was 29 — down from the 43 reported the previous week.

Another 1,464 people have tested positive for the virus, the latest 24-hour update shows.

The number of cases being recorded each day has been in excess of 1,400 since the middle of November, with the 2,004 reported on Thursday one of the highest totals recorded since regular testing began.

In the past week, 11,643 people have tested positive in Northern Ireland in total.

The pressure on the hospital system also shows little sign of easing, according to the figures, with 340 Covid-positive patients in total when the statistics were recorded this morning.

Of those patients, 28 were in intensive care.