Coronavirus: Northern Ireland reports 17 more deaths

A further 17 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.

The North's Department of Health also confirmed another 455 positive cases of the virus on Saturday.

The number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 fell to 713, with 69 in ICU.

On Friday, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) reported that there had been 2,355 Covid-19 related deaths in the North since the start of the pandemic.

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In the week to January 22nd, Nisra recorded 150 deaths involving coronavirus, the second highest weekly number since the pandemic began, taking its death toll total to 2,355.

The comparative number of deaths reported daily by the North’s Department of Health up to last Friday was 1,716.

That difference of more than 600 deaths is explained by the fact that health department figures mainly relate to deaths in hospital and patients who had previously tested positive for the virus.

Nisra’s figures go wider in that they relate to death certificates in the general community where Covid-19 was recorded as a factor in the death. – PA