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Northern Ireland has recorded 462 new cases of Covid-19 in a 24-hour period.<\/p>\nNorthern Ireland has recorded 462 new cases of Covid-19 in a 24-hour period.<\/p>\n
There has been one further death reported by the North’s department of health.<\/p>\n
The death toll recorded by the department now stands at 584.<\/p>\n
It comes as a 46-year-old woman was charged with breaching coronavirus regulations in Strabane, Co Tyrone.<\/p>\n
She is the first person in Northern Ireland to be charged under the new legislation.<\/p>\n
The woman is due to appear before the Derry Magistrates\u2019 Court on Monday.<\/p>\n
The latest figures show that the infection rate in Derry City and Strabane has continued to increase. There are now 485.2 cases per 100,000 of the population.<\/p>\n
The rate in the Newry, Mourne and Down council area is up to 289.1 while Belfast has also risen to 214.8.<\/p>\n
The area with the next highest prevalence is Mid Ulster at 180.3.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland\u2019s finance minister, Conor Murphy, said on Sunday that further steps will be considered by Stormont if the current Covid-19 measures are not effective.<\/p>\n
Mr. Murphy told the BBC\u2019s Sunday Politics all options would be discussed when the Executive meets on Monday.<\/p>\n
He also said he was working to quickly put in place a package to support businesses forced to close their doors as a result of Covid-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize that if businesses are forced to close down in hospitality that there will be going costs that they will need assistance with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want to do is put a scheme in which gets support onto the ground very quickly, which isn\u2019t overly bureaucratic, which recognizes that this may be in place for a couple of weeks and that people need support with ongoing costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that the furlough scheme was still available until the end of the month but they still wanted to get a new support package on to the ground. that went \u201cdirectly to those who need it\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Stormont Executive announced new restrictions for the Derry City and Strabane Council area on Thursday in an effort to stem spiraling infection numbers.<\/p>\n
They include hospitality businesses being limited to takeaway, delivery and outdoor dining, and a call to avoid unnecessary travel.<\/p>\n
A total of 65 patients with Covid-19 were being cared for in 20 hospitals in the region on Sunday, with nine in intensive care.<\/p>\n