By spring Covid-19 vaccines should be doing the “heavy lifting” to combat the incidence of the virus, the North’s chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride has predicted. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases dropped to 79 bringing the total number of cases since the outbreak of the pandemic to 50,143. Hospital bed occupancy remains high at 99 per cent, according to the department, with 445 patients receiving Covid treatment. The overall 7-day Covid figure for Northern Ireland is down to 130 cases per 100,000 of population. Hospital and ICU admissionsWhile there had been a decrease in the number of Covid cases there was not the same decrease in hospital and ICU admissions.

Source: The Irish Times November 24, 2020 14:48 UTC