Six further coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
The death toll from the Department of Health now stands at 2,430.
Four fatalities are said to have occurred during the current reporting period, and two outside of it.
A further 1,210 positive Covid cases have also been recorded in NI today.
This brings the total number of positive cases to 211,939 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Department of Health.
Over the past seven days, the Department said 9,892 individuals have tested positive in Northern Ireland.
According to figures released on Wednesday, there are currently 454 Covid-19 confirmed patients in hospital and 44 in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland schools are “on the verge of collapse under the strain of Covid-19 “, a leading teaching union has warned.
Jacquie White, General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers’ Union, was speaking as the Education Committee meets today to discuss the significant difficulties across schools at the start of the new term.
Health chiefs are under pressure to ramp up coronavirus testing capacity as schools across Northern Ireland continue to send hundreds of pupils home.
There is also concern at suggestions a faster form of Covid-19 testing could be used to allow self-isolating students to return to school.
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