Three more admitted to Western Trust hospitals as Derry COVID-19 rate rises to 824.2 per 100,000; 33 in hospital

The seven day case rate per 100,000 people has now risen to 824.3, three times the average for the north which is 280.2.

One person, aged 60 to 79, was admitted to Altnagelvin on Thursday, while two people, in the same age bracket, were admitted to the South West Acute Hospital.

The admissions follow the death of a woman from Derry and Strabane on Wednesday.

At midnight 33 people with COVID-19 remained in Western Trust hospitals.

More cases were detected in Derry and Strabane between October 2 and October 8 (1,242) than were detected here between the start of the pandemic and October 1 (1,082).

The number of cases locally more than doubled from 588 on Thursday, September 24, to 1,242 yesterday - a doubling period of about two weeks.

While most of the positive cases over the past week were among the younger cohorts 18 people over the age of 80 contracted the illness and 133 people aged between 60 and 79 tested positive.

The largest numbers of cases were among young people: 20-39 (525), 40-59 (400) and 0-19 (166).