206 further coronavirus cases in Mid and East Antrim

The number of coronavirus cases in Mid and East Antrim increased by 206 over the weekend, official figures show.

A total of 46,248 cases had been confirmed in Mid and East Antrim when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on April 4 (Monday), up from 46,042 on Friday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Mid and East Antrim, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 33,166 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the Northern Ireland average of 36,441.

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 142,807 over the last 24 hours, to 21,359,681.

Free tests in England were withdrawn for most people in the country on April 1, meaning the reported number of coronavirus cases in the UK is likely to be an underestimate.

There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Mid and East Antrim.

The dashboard shows 290 people had died in the area by April 4 (Monday) – which was unchanged from Friday.

It means there have been two deaths in the past week, which is the same as the previous week.

They were among 3,342 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 Mid and East Antrim.

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.

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