The health ministry announced two Covid-19 deaths and 2,356 infections on Monday night as 150 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised.

The deaths were of a man, aged 67, and a woman, aged 80. Their deaths raise the total fatalities attributed to Covid-19 to 856.

At the hospitals, 37 Covid-19 patients are in serious condition – 14 of whom are intubated – while 60 per cent of the overall 150 patients are unvaccinated, the ministry said.

Monday’s 2,356 infections were identified following 128,114 tests, a positivity rate of 1.84 per cent. Total infections recorded now total 322,516.

PCR tests accounted for 9,513 Covid-19 tests, identifying 358 positives at a rate of 3.76 per cent. Rapid tests made up the vast majority at 118,601 such checks, picking up 1,998 positives at a rate of 1.68 per cent.

Contact tracing carried out PCR 380 tests, identifying 45. The unit’s 727 rapid tests picked up 50 positives.

The health ministry’s testing programme carried out 58,822 such checks and identified 651 infections.

As part of the programme, test units for eligible groups saw 17,229 tests and 379 positives while primary schools accounted for 20,170 tests and 72 positives. Secondary schools saw 11,841 tests and 57 positives.

Notably, care homes recorded 21 infections from the 1,477 Covid-19 tests, a positivity rate of 1.42 per cent.