2,021 further coronavirus cases and three more deaths recorded in Antrim and Newtownabbey

A Coronavirus testing centre in Dalston, east London. There were a further 6,042 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Saturday, taking the overall number to 429,277. A further 34 deaths were recorded.

The number of coronavirus cases in Antrim and Newtownabbey increased by 2,021 since the official dashboard was last updated, official figures show – and three more deaths were recorded.

A total of 31,580 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Antrim and Newtownabbey when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on January 4 (Tuesday), up from 29,559 on Monday.

Newly-reported figures of cases and deaths for Northern Ireland cover a four-day period in the latest update.

The rate of infection in Antrim and Newtownabbey now stands at 21,968 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the Northern Ireland average of 22,817.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 218,705 over the period, to 13,641,520.

There were also three more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Antrim and Newtownabbey.

The dashboard shows 277 people had died in the area by January 4 (Tuesday) – up from 274 on Monday.

It means there have been four deaths in the past week, which is an increase on none the previous week.

They were among 2,995 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.