NI records 1,606 deaths in pandemic after 25 more lose lives

The latest DoH dashboard shows that four of the deaths took place outside the 24 hour period.

That brings the death toll in NI to 1,606.

Meanwhile another 822 people have tested positive for the virus.

In the last seven days that number rises to 6,882.

The total number of people to test positive in NI so far is 95,361.

Meanwhile there are now 840 COVID-19 confirmed inpatients.

And there are 67 COVID-19 confirmed inpatients in ICU.

There are now 137 confirmed COVID-19 confirmed outbreaks in NI Care Homes.

The latest statistice are revealed as Northern Ireland’s hospital system faces the peak of Covid-19 patients needing intensive care treatment.

Earlier Jennifer Welsh, chief executive of the Northern Trust, outlined the situation in the two hospitals in her area, Antrim Area and Causeway.

“At the peak of the first wave in April across both Antrim and Causeway hospitals, the highest number of Covid positive patients that we had was 73 and then in November the highest number that we had was 102 and here we are beyond that, peaking on Thursday actually at 202 patients, we’ve just dropped below that just slightly,” she told BBC NI’s Sunday Politics programme.

“So huge pressure across the hospital system.”

Ms Welsh said the hospitals were coping but only due to the “great cost” of cancelling other services, such as cancer surgeries.

“We have only been able to do this because we have had to stand down so many other things,” she said.

Ms Welsh said it appeared the number of patients needing respiratory support short of ICU care had now peaked.

However, she warned that the ICU admission rates were still rising.

“We are not yet at the peak of those intensive care admissions and we expect that to come later this week,” Ms Welsh said.

“We have done so much work in preparation for this.”

She said prior to the pandemic there were seven ICU beds at Antrim Area Hospital.

Ms Welsh said that had now increased to 14 and 11 of those were occupied on Sunday.

“All of the hospitals, particularly the big district general hospitals, have all doubled their ICU footprint in preparation for this,” she said.

“And all of us are already working well beyond what our normal capacity would be.”