Derry COVID-19 rate at lowest level since September 20; Altnagelvin now 1.48% over capacity

Between February 4 and February 10, there were 122 confirmed positive cases of the virus in the district giving a seven day rate per 100,000 of 81, down from 89.6 on Wednesday.

The last time it was at a lower level was on September 20 last year when a rate of 80.3 per 100,000 was recorded.

Derry/Strabane is still recording the fourth lowest coronavirus rate in the north. The lowest rates are in Fermanagh and Omagh (60.8), Lisburn and Castlereagh (68.9) and Ards and North Down (74.6).

Rates remain higher in Mid Ulster (227.8), Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (202.6), Belfast (133.6), Newry, Mourne and Down (123.8), Antrim and Newtownabbey (112.8), Mid and East Antrim (90.2) and Causeway Coast and Glens (88.7).

The daily change in the cumulative number of patients with a positive test in Derry and Strabane between February 9 and February 10 was 17.

In total 10,888 people have now tested positive for the illness in Derry and Strabane.

There have been no reported deaths with COVID-19 in Derry and Strabane this week.

At midnight on Wednesday 62 patients were being treated as COVID-19 inpatients across all Western Trust hospitals. This is as low as it has been since October 14 (58).

Yesterday three more people were admitted to Altnagelvin with the illness: a woman in her seventies and two men - one in his sixties and one in his seventies.

Five of eleven (45.45%) ICU beds at Altnagelvin were being used to treat COVID-19 patients; six (54.55%) were occupied by patients with other conditions and there were no staffed ICU beds free, according to Department of Health figures released this afternoon.

Seven ICU patients in total were being ventilated - five were COVID-19 patients and two were non-COVID-19 patients.

In terms of general occupancy 11.24% of beds at Altnagelvin were ‘COVID-19 occupied’, 84.32% were ‘other occupied’ and the hospital was 1.48% over capacity: 4.44% were ‘awaiting admission.’