No further Covid19 related deaths in NI but over 600 new cases

By Q Radio News

No further COVID19 related deaths have occurred in Northern Ireland. 

It means the total number of fatalities recorded by the Department of Health remains at 2,156. 

However another 627 new cases have been confirmed here in the past 24 hours.

The sharp rise in cases comes as experts warn that modelling suggests a number of scenarios that range from 2,000-3,000 new cases a day by August.

A worse scenario if the vaccine uptake is poor and public health advice is ignored of up to 8,000 cases a day.

It also suggests 400 patients in hospital per day by the end of August.

Chief scientific adviser Prof Young said if 90% receive their first dose of the vaccine by the end of July the case numbers and hospitalisations in the next wave could be reduced by 50%.

“While the number of cases concerns us, what really concerns us is the pressure on our hospitals and it is inevitable that as cases increase so admissions and bed occupancy in hospitals will increase followed by patients requiring critical care treatment and unfortunately deaths,” he said.

“The increase is going to be less than in previous waves because vaccination has weakened the link between case numbers and hospital admissions but it hasn’t abolished it.”