Derry COVID-19 figures not included due to ‘reporting issues’ as confirmed Irish cases rise to 8,051

The PHA said tests were initially conducted by the Regional Virology Laboratory in Belfast for all of the north. However, lab testing data from the WHSCT, which started on April 3, is not currently included due to ‘reporting issues’.

Thus there had been no reported rise in cases in Derry and Strabane since Tuesday when the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose from 51 to 52. Otherwise, as of 11.15 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, testing had resulted in 138 new positive cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the north to 1477. To date 82 people who have tested positive in the north have sadly died. The latest daily report shows that over the previous 24 hours there had been 138 new confirmed cases; and 843 more tests. Four new deaths were confirmed in the north.

Fifty-two confirmed cases have been reported in Derry and Strabane compared with 482 in Belfast, however, as aforementioned there have been ‘reporting issues’ with the Western Trust data this week. Of the 10203 tests in the north so far 894 have been conducted in the WHSCT compared with 3825 in the Belfast Trust, the highest number of tests. Once again this is partly due to the data gap mentioned above.

Last night it was confirmed that there have now been 125 cases in Donegal (1.9% of the total in the 26 counties). As of Thursday there were 8051 confirmed cases in Ireland - 6574 in the south and 1477 in the north. Three hundred and forty-five people have now died from the illness in Ireland.