491 further coronavirus cases and two more deaths recorded in Derry City and Strabane

The number of coronavirus cases in Derry City and Strabane increased by 491 over the weekend, official figures show – and two more deaths were recorded.

A total of 48,247 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Derry City and Strabane when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on January 24 (Monday), up from 47,756 on Friday.

The rate of infection in Derry City and Strabane now stands at 31,929 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the Northern Ireland average of 26,910.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 244,626 over the period, to 15,953,685.

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 currently only include LFT results for England and Northern Ireland, with lateral flow testing data for Scotland due to be added in the coming weeks.

There were also two more coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Derry City and Strabane.

The dashboard shows 198 people had died in the area by January 24 (Monday) – up from 196 on Friday.

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

They were among 3,072 deaths recorded across Northern Ireland. One death has been removed from the cumulative number of reported deaths within 28 days of positive test in Northern Ireland following validation.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Derry City and Strabane.

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.