North’s Department of Health records 17 more deaths from Covid-19

GCSE and A-level students in Northern Ireland will receive calculated grades from their schools

An additional 447 people tested positive for the virus in Northern Ireland. File photograph: Alan Betson
An additional 447 people tested positive for the virus in Northern Ireland. File photograph: Alan Betson

A further 17 people with Covid-19 have died in Northern Ireland, the North's Department of Health reported on Tuesday.

It brings the total number of fatalities recorded by the Department to 1,878.

An additional 447 people tested positive for the virus.

A total of 716 people are being treated for coronavirus in the North’s hospitals, with 66 in intensive care.

Meanwhile, the North’s Minister for Education has announced that GCSE and A-level students in the North will receive calculated grades from their schools.

Provisional grades submitted by schools will then be moderated by the North’s exam board, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).

Statistical standardisation using an algorithm, which was controversially reversed after many pupils received lower grades than expected last year, will not be used.

Exams in Northern Ireland have been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Freya McClements

Freya McClements

Freya McClements is Northern Editor of The Irish Times