Local lockdowns may have to be implemented in Northern Ireland to deal with recent surges in cases, a chief scientific advisor has warned.
The NI Department of Health has today reported a further 39 people have tested positive for Coronavirus. No new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours.
This now brings the total number of confirmed positive cases in the region to 6,430.
Northern Ireland recorded 93 new Covid-19 cases over the weekend. Professor Ian Young, Northern Ireland’s chief scientific adviser, said two council areas may need additional local measures following surges. Antrim and Newtownabbey and Mid and East Antrim are particularly affected by increases in infections.
The adviser told BBC Radio Ulster: “I don’t think we’re at the point where we’d be considering measures across the whole of Northern Ireland because there are still many parts of Northern Ireland where, as a result of public behaviours and other factors, the level of virus remains at a low level.”
No patients with Covid-19 are currently being treated in intensive care in a hospital in the North of Ireland hospital, according to the department’s latest update.
