As we head into the New Year, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging people to make a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking and improve their health. Colette Rogers, Strategic Lead for Tobacco Control with the PHA, said: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, our health is more important than ever. Stopping smoking now will have a positive impact on your health, not only in the long-term, but also sooner in ways you probably hadn’t thought about. For example, if you smoke, your fingers are in contact with your lips, increasing the possibility of transmission of COVID-19 from hand to mouth. “This has

The number of new HIV cases in Northern Ireland fell to 52 in 2019, the lowest number in ten years, according to a new report from Public Health Agency (PHA) published today. The report shows there were 52 new HIV diagnoses in 2019 compared with 80 in 2018, and a decline of 49% from a peak of 102 new cases in 2015. There were 27 new HIV diagnoses which occurred through heterosexual transmission, and 21 new cases amongst gay and bisexual men (GBM) in 2019. This is the first time in ten years that the heterosexual transmission rate was higher than in GBM, with HIV transmission in GBM having

The Public Health Agency (PHA) has urged people with symptoms of COVID-19 to get tested without delay over Christmas. Testing centres across Northern Ireland will remain open throughout the festive season and people can book appointments as normal. Contact tracing will also continue to operate during the holiday period, Testing remains the only way to know if you have COVID-19 and can help stop the spread of the virus and save lives. If you test positive, it enables you and your close contacts to be alerted to exposure to the virus, the need to self-isolate, and helps to stop the spread the

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is calling on those who choose to drink alcohol this festive season to not stockpile alcohol as it could increase the risk of you drinking more that you normally would. Many of us over-indulge at Christmas but overdoing it with alcohol could seriously damage your health. Michael Owen, the PHA’s lead for Drugs and Alcohol, said: “Many of us like to have a drink at Christmas and we’re not saying people shouldn’t, but it’s important that we enjoy ourselves safely. “Many people do not realise that alcohol is a powerful drug and we need to be careful how we use it

The Public Health Agency (PHA) operates a dedicated COVID-19 education team to provide support on cases of COVID-19 that occur in a school setting. The team operates from Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm during term time. Our dedicated education team will remain open until 4pm on 23 rd December. While schools are closed over the Christmas period and not directly providing contact tracing support in schools, the service provided by the education team will continue to be delivered through our Health Protection Duty Room or on call service and Contact