Twelve more coronavirus-related deaths recorded in NI

Twelve more people who tested positive for coronavirus in Northern Ireland have died, according to the Department of Health – ten of them in the last 24-hour reporting period.

It brings the official death toll to 1,154 although that figure is expected to rise significantly when deaths in all community settings have been accounted for.

• Department of Health: Covid-19 data dashboard

The latest figures also show there have been 656 new positive cases, out of 3,439 individuals tested.

In the last seven days, there have been 3,531 positive cases.

There are currently 460 people with Covid-19 being treated in hospitals across Northern Ireland – 32 of them in intensive care and 26 on ventilators.

• Read more: Queues of ambulances form outside NI’s over-capacity hospitals

Bed occupancy is said to be at 104%.

Altnagelvin, Antrim Area, the Causeway, Craigavon, Daisy Hill, the Royal Victoria, the South West Acute, and the Ulster Hospital are all operating beyond capacity.

• The Executive meet amid growing concern about the rise in cases

There are also 86 confirmed active outbreaks of Covid-19 in care homes.

The Executive are meeting on Thursday afternoon to consider proposals for a period of tough restrictions post-Christmas, which could potentially last a number of weeks.

• Read more: Northern Ireland could be heading for a six week lockdown