Nine further coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
The death toll from the Department of Health now stands at 2,373.
A further 1,472 positive Covid cases have also been recorded in NI today and there have been a total of 202,123 positive cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.
Over the past seven days, the Department said 10,378 individuals have tested positive in Northern Ireland.
According to figures released on Wednesday, there are currently 418 Covid-19 confirmed patients in hospital and 46 in intensive care.
The data also shows that 2,449,587 vaccines have been administered in total across Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, rising Covid cases are causing “more suffering for cancer patients”, medics warn today.
In a plea for action, specialists are calling on more people to be get vaccinated because patients getting severely ill with the virus are diverting personnel and resources from cancer care.
They say the impact of more people becoming unwell with Covid “will be continued delays in cancer diagnosis, delays in surgical treatment, more suffering for cancer patients, and may risk more untimely deaths from cancer”.
The stark warning was issued by the NI Cancer Network which is made up of healthcare staff from a range of disciplines including, surgery, oncology, radiology, pathology and clinical nurse specialists.
Earlier in August, Department of Health figures showed that 80% of Covid hospital in-patients who were under the age of 60 were totally unvaccinated.
In their statement, the Cancer Network said clinicians are “urging the public to help their patients get the vital care they require by taking up the offer of vaccination and continuing to do all they can to prevent the spread of coronavirus”.
They added: “Clinicians are concerned that the care of people waiting for treatment with other serious conditions, such as cancer, is being delayed as a direct result of the continued impact of Covid-19 on hospitals.”
