42 people now being treated for COVID-19 in Western Trust hospitals

The seven day case rate per 100,000 people has now risen to 872.1, according to the latest daily data released by the Department of Health on Saturday.

More cases were detected in Derry and Strabane between October 3 and October 9 (1,314) than were detected here between the start of the pandemic and October 2 (1,282).

In total 2,731 people have now contracted the illness since the pandemic spread to Derry and Strabane in the spring.

The number of people in Western Trust hospitals jumped from 33 to 42 between midnight on Thursday and midnight on Friday.

Most of the positive cases over the past week were among the younger cohorts but 17 people over the age of 80 contracted the illness and 145 people aged between 60 and 79 tested positive.

The largest numbers of cases were among young people: 20-39 (568), 40-59 (416) and 0-19 (168).