Fifth person in NI dies from COVID-19 - 24 new cases confirmed in last 24 hours

"As of 6pm on Tuesday March 24, testing has resulted in 24 new positive cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Northern Ireland to 172," said the PHA.

"To date, five people who tested positive have sadly died," they added.

The daughter of a woman from Northern Ireland who became the fourth person in Northern Ireland to die after testing positive for COVID-19 posted a tearful tribute to her mother on social media on Tuesday morning.

Ruth Burke, 82, passed away on Monday evening in Antrim Area Hospital.

Brenda Doherty, who published the tribute to her mum on Tuesday morning, used the video as an opportunity to warn more people to take the pandemic seriously.

"This morning you'll hear a fourth person from Northern Ireland has died from COVID-19.

"I just want to let you know that that fourth person was our mum who we loved and were very proud to have as a mother.

"Mum was not just a statistic she was a woman who had unbelievable strength and suffered many challenges in her life

"Unfortunately this was one she was not going to overcome."