No frontline healthcare workers have died from Coronavirus in Northern Ireland, according to the Health Minister.
Robin Swann said the deaths of NI healthcare workers outlined by the Office of National Statistics were of retired health staff. While a care home worker who died in the west of the province had been shielding from the virus at the time.
But he did admit someone on the frontline had been battling the virus in ICU until a few days ago.
Minister Swann told Belfast Live at yesterday’s briefing: “We have lost no frontline healthcare workers to date in Northern Ireland.
“There was a report from the ONS which did record a number of healthcare workers but from what we can ascertain from the statistics in that, working through Trusts and the information that we have, they were actually retired nurses who still had that as their profession.
“I am aware of one individual, a domiciliary care worker in the West of the province, who had been shielding at the time that she passed away.
“It’s not something that I publicised in the past because I never wanted to make it another score card.
“But according to my information at this minute in time, we haven’t lost any frontline healthcare workers in Northern Ireland.”
He did however say that one health professional was in ICU being treated for the virus.
“We currently have one still in hospital being treated,” he added.
“We have had one in ICU up until a few days ago, but thankfully they are no longer in ICU.”
