COVID-19 Epidemiological Bulletin

This weekly report outlines the recent epidemiology of COVID-19 disease in Northern Ireland (NI), along with information about the genomic lineages (variants) of cases, the number of COVID-19 outbreaks in care homes and excess deaths. It links to other sources of information about SARS-CoV-2 genomics and COVID-19-related deaths.

1 Summary

• In the week ending May 28 2023 (Week 21), the number of new infection episodes detected through clinical and routine testing was 206, a decrease when compared to 225 in the previous week.

• There has been a slight increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in care homes in the current week compared to the previous week.

• There has been a slight increase in the number of community acquired emergency COVID-19 hospital admissions in the current week compared to the previous week.

• There has been a general decreasing trend in the number of community acquired emergency COVID-19 inpatients since mid-April, with recent fluctuations seen.

• In the week ending May 26 2023, there were 7 COVID-19 registered deaths; a decrease when compared to the previous week.

2 Incidence and prevalence of COVID-19

2.1 Episodes of COVID-19

Infection episodes detected through clinical testing reveal only a small fraction of the true number of cases, because only a minority of people who have COVID-19 disease are tested. We continue to monitor these because an increase may indicate increasing incidence or severity.

The number of new episodes is shown by week overall (Figure 2.1), as a rate per 100,000 population by age band over time (Figure 2.2), as a rate per 100,000 population by local government district for the most recent week in a bar plot (Figure 2.3) and over a six week period (Figure 2.4). Supplementary tables of key figures are shown at the end of this document. The number of new episodes decreased in week 21, at 206 from 225 in the previous week. There have now been decreases seen since week 12 of 2023. Decreases in episode rates when compared to the previous week were seen in the majority of age groups, apart from the 10-19, 50-59 and 70-79 year-old age groups which saw an increase. The highest episode rates per 100,000 population remain in the 80+ year-olds (45.1 per 100,000 population). Antrim and Newtownabbey, Belfast, Causeway Coast and Glens, Derry City and Strabane and Mid and East Antrim saw decreases in episode rates when compared to the previous week. Lisburn and Castlereagh saw no change and the remaining local government districts saw an increase.

Testing policy changes over time in NI will have an impact on the proportion of COVID-19 cases detected and may affect case rates and other indicators presented in this report.

Figure 2.1: Weekly number of unique episodes of COVID-19, by epidemiological week