Northern Ireland records eight more Covid-19 deaths

By Michelle Devane, PA

There have been eight further Covid-19 deaths and 685 new cases of the virus in Northern Ireland in the past 24 hours.

It brings the total number of deaths in the region to 716, the Department of Health confirmed.

In the past seven days 5,145 individuals have tested positive for the virus.

There are now 361 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals, including 48 people with the virus in intensive care.

Mid Ulster is the region’s current hotspot, with the highest rate of infection per 100,000 people in the last seven days. Some 448.8 people per 100,000 tested positive for the virus.

Derry city and Stabane has the second highest rate at 354.4 per 100,000 of the population.

The rate in Belfast now stands at 334.4 per 100,000.

Had a useful call with @michaelgove & the other DAs.

NI schools will reopen on Monday and our current restrictions will end on 13 November as planned.

We must adapt to coexist with the virus.

That means increasing hospital & testing capacity.

— Arlene Foster #We’llMeetAgain (@DUPleader) October 31, 2020

The latest figures come as England faces at least a four-week national lockdown in a bid to reduce coronavirus infection rates.

The Prime Minister said the restrictions would end on December 2 when the Government would reintroduce local restrictions based on the latest data and trends.

But they could be extended beyond December 2 if rates do not significantly fall, a Cabinet minister admitted on Sunday.

First Minister Arlene Foster has said schools in Northern Ireland would reopen on Monday and the current restrictions would remain in place until November 13 as planned.

As speculation grew on Saturday about the lockdown in England Ms Foster wrote on Twitter: “We must adapt to coexist with the virus. That means increasing hospital & testing capacity.”