BREAKING: 1 new death in Northern Ireland linked to Coronavirus

By Peter Moor.

1 new death linked to COVID-19 has been announced by the Department of Health, with this death having occurred since yesterday.

The Department of Health data shows that 524 people have now died as a result of COVID-19.

This figure is lower than figures released last Friday the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)

They reported 718 COVID-19 related deaths here.

NISRA figures relate to information entered on death certificates, completed by medical professionals.

They may or may not have previously tested positive for the virus.

Whereas. Department of Health figures are based on mainly hospital patients having previously tested positive for the virus.

Today's Department of Health figures also show that a total of 4,728 people have tested positive for Coronavirus in the region.

12 of these are newly diagnosed cases.

The data from the Department of Health dashboard also revealed 72 care homes currently have confirmed outbreaks of COVID-19.

36 care homes have suspected outbreaks and 57 have closed outbreaks of the virus.

The figures also provide detail of capacity in Northern Ireland's hospitals.

It revealed that out of Northern Ireland's 89 intensive care unit beds, only 6 are occupied by patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.

Another 54 of the beds are taken up by non COVID-19 related patients, providing 29 spare ICU beds.