61 further coronavirus cases in Belfast

The number of coronavirus cases in Belfast increased by 61 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

A total of 128,423 cases had been confirmed in Belfast when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on May 4 (Wednesday), up from 128,362 on Tuesday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Belfast, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 37,489 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the Northern Ireland average of 37,388.

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.

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 May 4 (Wednesday) – which was unchanged from Tuesday.

It means there have been no deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on five the previous week.

They were among 3,424 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.