Six more fatalities reported as Covid death toll passes 2,600, figures show

The latest fatalities takes the total number of virus deaths reported by the Department of Health at Stormont since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,606.

There has been a slight rise in the number of people dying with the virus over the past seven days, the figures also show.

A total of 25 fatalities have been reported by the Department in the past week, compared with 18 the week before.

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus continues to remain high, the statistics also show.

Another 1,304 cases of the virus were reported yesterday, bringing the total for the past seven days to 8,996.

On Thursday morning there were 345 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 38 were in intensive care.

Of those in intensive care, 27 were on ventillators.

The hospital system as a whole remains under serious pressure, with 148 more patients requiring treatment than hospital beds available.