The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has said it is vital that people with symptoms of COVID-19 isolate and contact their GPs immediately, after it emerged that one out of every two people are taking three days or longer to come forward for testing after symptoms appear.
Dr Ronan Glynn also said there has been a big increase in a number of workplace outbreaks in the past four weeks compared to the end of 2020.
Meanwhile, the National Public Health Emergency Team has warned that the next few weeks will be difficult and that as case numbers fall below 1,000 per day, progress will appear to slow down.
The number of Covid-19 positive patients in hospital was down to 1,239 at 8pm last night, 38% below the peak in mid-January.