THE Department of Health say there are currently six patients in hospitals in the North of Ireland with a “confirmed” diagnosis of COVID-19.
Two of those are being treated in intensive care units.
There are now six “active” outbreaks of the disease in care homes in the North of Ireland and a further eight “suspected” outbreaks.
An active care home outbreak is where either a resident or a staff member has recently had a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
A suspected outbreak is when a care home resident or staff member has reported symptoms of the disease, such as a high temperature or a new, continuous cough, but has not been diagnosed.
Care home outbreaks are declared over or “closed” if there are no new cases of the virus in the home 14 days after the first confirmed case reported the onset of symptoms.
To date, 168 care home outbreaks here have been declared closed.
Meanwhile, Minister Robin Swann has announced a programme of regular COVID-19 testing for all residents and staff of care homes which do not have a confirmed outbreak of the virus.
It will begin next Monday, August 3, and will involve testing all staff on a fortnightly basis and all residents on a monthly basis.
“With the threat from Covid-19 still present, we must continue to do all we can to support care homes. That means protecting residents and staff,” Mr Swann said.
The Department of Health said care homes which already have an outbreak of Covid-19 would continue to be “prioritised” for testing.
In a statement, the department said the frequency of regular tests for both staff and residents would continue to be kept under close review.
It added that the frequency of tests may need to be increased “depending on emerging evidence, and on the community transmission rates of the virus in Northern Ireland”.
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