Tens of thousands of coronavirus infections identified in Newry, Mourne and Down so far

Tens of thousands of Covid-19 infections have been identified in Newry, Mourne and Down since the pandemic began, figures show, as reinfections are included in official statistics for the first time.
A Coronavirus testing centre in Dalston, east London. There were a further 6,042 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Saturday, taking the overall number to 429,277. A further 34 deaths were recorded.A Coronavirus testing centre in Dalston, east London. There were a further 6,042 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Saturday, taking the overall number to 429,277. A further 34 deaths were recorded.
A Coronavirus testing centre in Dalston, east London. There were a further 6,042 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Saturday, taking the overall number to 429,277. A further 34 deaths were recorded.

Tens of thousands of Covid-19 infections have been identified in Newry, Mourne and Down since the pandemic began, figures show, as reinfections are included in official statistics for the first time.

Since yesterday (January 31), the UK Health Security Agency has changed the way it reports coronavirus cases.

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It means if one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded.

The change has led to a significant rise in the number of cases recorded across the UK.

A total of 54,358 cases had been confirmed in Newry, Mourne and Down when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on January 31 (Monday).

That was up from 52,591 on Friday, when reinfections were not included in the figures.

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The rate of infection in Newry, Mourne and Down now stands at 29,922 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the Northern Ireland average of 28,639.

Across the UK, 17,315,893 coronavirus infections have been recorded since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 981,913 compared to Friday.

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.

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There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Newry, Mourne and Down.

The dashboard shows 236 people had died in the area by January 31 (Monday) – which was unchanged from Friday.

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

They were among 3,111 deaths recorded across Northern Ireland.

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

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.