One further coronavirus related death and 537 positive cases confirmed in NI

by Q Radio News

One more person has died in Northern Ireland after contracting coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to the Department of Health. 

It brings the death toll according to the department to 2,162. 

A further 537 positive cases of the virus have also been confirmed, a huge drop from 1,402 the day before.

NI #COVID19 data has been updated:

📊537 positive cases have been reported in past 24 hours. Sadly, one death has been reported.
💉2,180,618 vaccines administered in total.

Vaccines ➡️ https://t.co/Yfa0hHVmRL

Department of Health dashboard will be updated on Monday 19 July. pic.twitter.com/F0boblWMto

— Department of Health (@healthdpt) July 18, 2021

Meanwhile, a total of 2,180,618 vaccines have been administered in NI 

The department's dashboard will be updated fully tomorrow. 

The latest figures here come as a UK minister has said the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK is not expected to peak until "late August, maybe even early September". 

Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday that cases are still rising, with more than 50,000 reported in each of the last two days.

He revealed the current government projection while encouraging people to keep the NHS COVID-19 app installed on their phones with contact tracing enabled.

It comes after Downing Street announced that Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak would not be isolating despite coming into contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has tested positive for coronavirus.

The pair later U-turned and confirmed they would in fact be self-isolating in the normal way.

Mr Jenrick said: "I would urge people to ensure they have the NHS app on their phones, that it's fully switched on.

"We're actually seeing more people download the app than ever before, so the evidence is positive. But then if you do get contacted by track and trace, of course, to follow all of the steps that are required.

"Because it is a really important part of our toolkit for tackling the virus at this critical stage as cases are still rising, hospitalisations are increasing.

"And we won't really expect this wave of the virus to peak until late August, maybe even early September. So there are going to be some quite challenging weeks ahead."