309 further coronavirus cases and one more death recorded in Ards and North Down

The number of coronavirus cases in Ards and North Down increased by 309 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and one more death was recorded.

A total of 44,440 cases had been confirmed in Ards and North Down when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on February 22 (Tuesday), up from 44,131 on Monday.

The cumulativerate of infection in Ards and North Down, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 27,423 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the Northern Ireland average of 32,257.

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 40,876 over the period, to 18,695,448.

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 Ards and North Down.

The dashboard shows 203 people had died in the area by February 22 (Tuesday) – up from 202 on Monday.

It means there have been two deaths in the past week, which is an increase on one the previous week.

They were among 3,189 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 Ards and North Down.

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