As we approach Wednesday, the day we are no longer obliged to wear masks inside, the number of inpatients with Covid-19 in the region has risen by 33% in a week.
There are currently 130 patients in regional hospitals with Covid-19, compared to 98 on the same day last week, and 12 of these are in intensive care.
Sadly, there have also been eight deaths over the last week bringing the Covid death toll to 2,221.
Over the past 24 hours there were 98 new cases diagnosed in the region.*
On Wednesday this week the wearing of masks in the interiors of shops, restaurants etc is no longer obligatory.
However, masks are obligatory in chemists, hospitals all forms of public transport, including air travel, in medical centres and in residential centres.
*There are less tests carried out on a Sunday and this may affect the level of new cases reported.
As tests are only carried out on vulnerable groups we do not know how many positives there are amongst the general population.
