60 further coronavirus cases in Belfast

File photo dated 21/12/2021 of a nurse puts on PPE in a ward for Covid patients at King's College Hospital, in south east London. The Government has been told to "get a grip" of personal protective equipment (PPE) stocks and contracts, as it was disclosed more than half of suppliers who provided items through the VIP fast-track lane provided stock that was not suitable for use on the front line. Issue date: Wednesday March 30, 2022.

The number of coronavirus cases in Belfast increased by 60 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

A total of 128,226 cases had been confirmed in Belfast when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on April 29 (Friday), up from 128,166 on Thursday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Belfast, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 37,432 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the Northern Ireland average of 37,316.

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.

The end of free tests in England means the reported number of coronavirus cases in the UK is likely to be an underestimate. However, the Office for National Statistics estimates that 2.9 million people had Covid-19 in the week ending April 23.

There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Belfast.

The dashboard shows 625 people had died in the area by April 29 (Friday) – which was unchanged from Thursday.

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

They were among 3,417 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 Belfast.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death, so some areas might see their figures revised down.