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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Sarah Scott

Coronavirus NI: Five deaths and over 1,000 cases in last 24 hours

Five further coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland.

The death toll from the Department of Health now stands at 2,661.

A further 1,061 positive Covid cases have also been recorded in NI on Sunday.

The full dashboard is not set to be updated until Monday, October 25, but in a tweet, the DoH said that 2,614,760 vaccines have been administered in total.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Robin Swann has said he is concerned about public confusion over what Stormont ministers have agreed regarding the wearing of face coverings in nightclubs.

The Executive has agreed that masks will not be mandatory for dancing in nightclubs when they reopen next Sunday.

Mr Swann urged clubs which reopen to consider using vaccine certification as an entry requirement.

He was speaking at the Kingspan Stadium, the home of Ulster Rugby, which has become the location for a c ombined Covid vaccine booster and flu jab clinic for patients of Castlereagh Medical Centre.

Mr Swann said: "What I am worried about is confusion in regards to the message that we have in regards to face coverings. Face coverings are still mandatory in Northern Ireland, should that be on public transport, in retail or in crowded places.

"When it comes to a single message I am concerned that there has been some confusion established in regards to what was agreed, what was talked about."

There had been criticism of some of the relaxations agreed by the Executive, with Dr Tom Black, chair of BMA's Northern Ireland council, describing them as "madness".

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