No further Covid-19 deaths recorded in Northern Ireland in the last 24-hour reporting period

There were another 54 confirmed cases of the virus recorded.

On Tuesday morning there were 20 confirmed Covid-19 inpatients in hospital, of whom two were in intensive care.

In the UK no deaths within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday, according to the Government.

It is the first time this has happened since July 30, 2020.

In Scotland Covid-19 restrictions will be eased in some areas on Saturday, but much of the country will retain tougher measures due to spikes in cases of the virus, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister updated MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on coronavirus restrictions.

She said parts of Scotland could move from Level 2 to Level 1 of the five tiers of restrictions, which run from 0-4.

In Ireland the Taoiseach has defended the Government’s decision to cut the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) from September.

It was announced on Tuesday that the payment will be phased out from September under the Government’s National Economic Recovery Plan.