444 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 444 over the weekend, official figures show – and one more death was recorded.

A total of 51,776 cases had been confirmed in Ards and North Down when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 28 (Monday), up from 51,332 on Friday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Ards and North Down, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 31,949 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the Northern Ireland average of 35,992.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, 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 214,392 over the period, to 20,905,515.

There was also one more coronavirus death recorded over the weekend in Ards and North Down.

The dashboard shows 209 people had died in the area by March 28 (Monday) – up from 208 on Friday.

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

They were among 3,306 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.

Figures reported on a Monday are likely to be lower as a result of a lag in reporting deaths over the weekend.