Kevin Galvin & Cate McCurry
There have been 9 additional deaths related to COVID-19 and 525 further cases of the virus in Ireland.
The latest figures provided by the Department of Health have shown that seven deaths occurred in March, and two occurred in February.
Of the cases today 266 were in Dublin, 33 in Meath, and 29 were in Wexford.
Elsewhere across the South-East, Tipperary have had 13 new cases while Waterford have had 12.
Carlow and Kilkenny have had less than five new cases each.
As of 8am today, 328 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 83 are in ICU.
There have been 27 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
While as of March 17th, 639,586 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:
468,328 people have received their first dose and 171,258 people have received their second dose.
It's as there have been no further deaths of people who previously tested positive for Covid-19 in the North.
Another 159 confirmed cases of the virus were recorded by the region's Department of Health in the last 24-hour reporting period.
On Saturday, there were 156 Covid-positive confirmed inpatients in hospital, of whom 18 were in intensive care.
The number of positive cases in the last seven days stands at 1,085, a drop of 234 cases in the week previous.
It's not just a ‘quick visit’ or a ‘wee catch-up’ - it’s putting lives at risk. Coronavirus #COVID19 is still spreading - please stay at home. https://t.co/1JiSKbQ8kF @healthdpt @niexecutive pic.twitter.com/rRB02UnC80
— nidirect (@nidirect) March 20, 2021
The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus since the outbreak began last February now stands at 115,807.
On Friday, Stormont’s Health Minister urged continued vigilance in the battle against Covid-19.
Robin Swann insisted better days were to come but warned of the threat still posed by the virus.
The deaths of a further three people who previously tested positive for Covid-19 were reported by Mr Swann’s department on Friday.
The fatalities took to 2,103 the total number of deaths recorded by the Department of Health since the pandemic began.
The overall number of deaths linked to the virus is higher, as the departmental data only relates to those who have tested positive.
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) collates information on all deaths in which Covid-19 has been recorded on a death certificate by a medical professional, whether the person had tested positive or not.
The Nisra toll, which is reported with a week lag, stood at 2,877 on March 12th.
As of Friday lunchtime, 726,290 vaccines had been administered in the region – 655,581 first doses and 70,709 second doses.
Health authorities in the region have moved to reassure the public that recent problems with the UK supply of AstraZeneca jabs will not have a significant impact on the rollout plan for Northern Ireland, with a delay of around two weeks estimated.
