113 further coronavirus cases and two more deaths recorded in Lisburn and Castlereagh

The number of coronavirus cases in Lisburn and Castlereagh increased by 113 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and two more deaths were recorded.

A total of 52,794 cases had been confirmed in Lisburn and Castlereagh when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on April 1 (Friday), up from 52,681 on Thursday.

Free testing will continue during April in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and until the summer in Wales.

But from April, it has ended for millions of people in England with most people now needing to shop on the high street for paid-for tests if they want them.

The cumulative rate of infection in Lisburn and Castlereagh, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 36,049 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the Northern Ireland average of 36,300.

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 69,449 over the period, to 21,216,874.

There were also two more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

The dashboard shows 253 people had died in the area by April 1 (Friday) – up from 251 on Thursday.

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

They were among 3,329 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 Lisburn and Castlereagh.

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