172 further coronavirus cases and one more death recorded in Antrim and Newtownabbey

The number of coronavirus cases in Antrim and Newtownabbey increased by 172 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and one more death was recorded.

A total of 52,134 cases had been confirmed in Antrim and Newtownabbey when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 25 (Friday), up from 51,962 on Thursday.

The cumulativerate of infection in Antrim and Newtownabbey, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 36,266 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the Northern Ireland average of 35,790.

If one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 77,306 over the period, to 20,691,123.

People with a positive lateral flow test no longer need to take a follow-up PCR test to confirm the result unless they have coronavirus symptoms.

UK case numbers now include LFT results for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There was also one more coronavirus death recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Antrim and Newtownabbey.

The dashboard shows 295 people had died in the area by March 25 (Friday) – up from 294 on Thursday.

It means there have been two deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on three the previous week.

They were among 3,292 deaths recorded across Northern Ireland.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Antrim and Newtownabbey.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.