No further Covid19 related deaths in Northern Ireland but almost 200 news cases

By Q Radio News

No further COVID19 related deaths have occurred in Northern Ireland. 

It means the total number of fatalities recorded by the Department of Health remains at 2,155. 

However another 178 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile there has been a 79% rise in one week in cases of the Delta variant first identified in India, Public Health England (PHE) has said.

Of the 75,953, some 70,856 have been in England, 4,659 in Scotland, 254 in Northern Ireland and 184 in Wales.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said the increase across the UK is being driven by younger age groups, many of whom have now been invited for a vaccination as the jab rollout extends to anyone aged 18 and over.

Hospital cases have also almost doubled, though most of those needing treatment have not had a vaccine.

It came as the Prime Minister said he is “very confident” that the remaining coronavirus restrictions in England will be lifted on July 19.

Speaking at Kirklees College in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Boris Johnson said: “I’m very confident that we’ll be able to go through with step four of the road map on the timetable that I’ve set out with treating July 19, as I’ve said, as a terminus date. I think that’s certainly what the data continues to indicate.”

The PHE data shows that 75,953 confirmed and probable cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant have now been found in the UK – up by 33,630, or 79%, on the previous week.

The most recent data shows 99% of confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus across the country are the Delta variant.

Dr Harries said: “Cases are rising rapidly across the country and the Delta variant is now dominant.

“The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated but are now being invited to receive the vaccine.”

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that around one in 520 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to June 12.

This is up from one in 560 in the previous week and the highest level since the week to April 10.