Two more deaths linked to Covid-19 reported in Northern Ireland in the past 24 hours

By Q Radio news

Two more people who had previously tested positive for coronavirus have died in Northern Ireland.

The latest data from the Department of Health also shows another 240 people have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.

There were 222 patients with Covid-19 in hospital on Tuesday morning, 32 of whom were in intensive care.

Another 2 people have died in Northern Ireland after contracting Covid19.

It brings the total number of deaths recorded by the Department of Health to 2,079.

A further 240 coronavirus cases have been confirmed since yesterday. pic.twitter.com/YX55NN5hWt

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) March 9, 2021

Meanwhile Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Robin Swann has said the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine is likely to be significantly ramped up shortly with one of the largest deliveries of the AstraZeneca jab expected this week.

Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, he hailed the progress in the rollout, saying they are likely to have administered jabs to 600,000 people in Northern Ireland by Wednesday.

He confirmed some of the regional vaccination centres are being moved from Pfizer to AstraZeneca due to the imminent delivery.

“Because of the size of this delivery, it will actually be two separate batches, one has a use-by date of the end of this month but with the numbers we are putting through now on a daily basis, we’ll be able to manage that, it will be a challenge but we have logistics now in place to be able to cope with those large numbers,” he said,

Mr Swann said the initial programme is “being stepped forward by a matter of weeks at each step”.

“When we see the size of this delivery and actually have it here in Northern Ireland, we could be looking at the possibility of moving to a next stage along the programme, another age cohort being called forward some time soon,” he said.

He described loss rate of vaccinations at the Ulster Hospital as 0.24% and said this was “mostly down to spoilage due to cracked vials rather than a waste due to management processes”.