Positive Covid cases rate in Derry council area continues to fall

The rate of Covid-19 cases in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area has continued to fall.

The latest figures released today by the Department of Health show that 137 people tested positive for the virus in the Derry and Strabane council area during the period from January 26 to February 1.

This is in comparison with 203 positive cases in Derry and Strabane during the previous seven-day period from January 19 to January 25.

The current rate of cases in the local council area is 90.9 per 100,000 of the population - a decrease on the rate of 134.7 per 100,000 of the population for the previous seven-day period.

The current rate in Derry and Strabane is the lowest of the 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.

In the period from January 26 to February 1, a total of 2,299 people have been tested in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area.

Seventeen more deaths related to Covid-19 were today reported by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, bringing its total to 1,878.

Of the 12 intensive care beds available at Altnagelvin Hospital today, five are occupied by Covid-19 patients, while a further six of the beds are occupied by non-Covid patients.

Just one of the intensive care beds at Altnagelvin is unoccupied.