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Those parents who are hoping that schools in Northern Ireland will reopen as normal in September would have had difficulty absorbing what the National Education Union said on Wednesday.
The NEU's Mark Langhammer told Stormont's education committee that the reopening of schools here is "likely to be staged and difficult". He claimed that somewhere between 20-40 per cent of teachers may be unable to return to work because of a variety of reasons including their own underlying health conditions, carer requirements and shielding.
On a busy day of developments, it emerged that the new contact tracing operation in Northern Ireland could be used for a year. It is thought to be a vital part of preventing the spread of the coronavirus in the Province.
It also emerged that fewer than 20 patients with Covid-19 are now being treated in Northern Ireland's intensive care units. The deaths of another five people with Covid-19 were also confirmed.
Stay safe
Alistair
Today's latest news: Another 5 people have died in NI after testing positive for coronavirus
The news is revealed on the COVID-19 dashboard that 494 people have now passed away in NI with the virus.
Four people died within the last 24 hours - and another person died outside that time range but was reported to the DoH.
It has emerged that 327 people aged 80+ years have now died with coronavirus.
See the Department of Health dashboard here
A Co Down father, working in support of the NHS, is in "a race against time" to raise money for research into his daughter's rare genetic disorder after the coronavirus pandemic stalled fundraising
Chris Brannigan, 39, an Army major, who lives in Surrey, launched a campaign in January to fund research into Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) which his eight-year-old daughter, Hasti, was born with. So far the campaign has raised £140,000, but another £38,000 is required to start this vital research.
CdLS is a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in a developmental gene. Children with the condition often deteriorate once they hit puberty, which results in severe depression and anxiety, mutism and self-damaging behaviours.
There is currently no cure for CdLS, so Chris and his wife Hengameh, who have two other children, Amir, 12, and Navid, 11, have been desperately trying to raise funds to develop a gene therapy treatment that could help Hasti and hundreds of others like her across the world.
Mr Brannigan, who is working to support the NHS in planning the delivery of personal protection equipment (PPE) and mobile Covid-19 testing centres, said his family has been under 'colossal pressure' over the last few weeks.
The lockdown couldn't stop residents of a south Belfast housing scheme from throwing an 100th birthday party complete with swing singer
The socially distanced celebration was for Mary Kieran who lives in Blessington Court on Rosetta Way.
Mary, known as Pauline, was born in 1920 in Co Louth and became well known in north Belfast where she ran a bar and green grocers with her late husband Gerry.
Plans had been laid before lockdown for a big birthday celebration with her neighbours, friends and family.
When those plans were put paid to by the coronavirus pandemic, Pauline's landlord, Clanmil Housing, stepped in to ensure that everyone could still safely be part of Pauline's landmark day on Monday.
Stormont's education minister Peter Weir has clashed with the chairman of his department's scrutiny committee over academic selection
The issue of unregulated tests used by selective grammar schools in Northern Ireland has come to the fore amid calls for the 2020 tests to be called off.
Earlier this week the Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, urged that the tests be cancelled this year, but Mr Weir said there was no "viable alternative".
The tests are set by private organisations AQE and PPTC, and are not regulated by the department.
Education committee chairman Chris Lyttle asked the minister if he believes children have "equal opportunity" to prepare for the tests while home schooling amid the lockdown.
"As best there can be," Mr Weir responded.
Economy Minister Diane Dodds has announced that the £40million NI Micro-business Hardship Fund will open to applications at 6pm today (20 May)
The grant scheme is targeted at businesses with one to nine employees facing immediate cash flow difficulties due to Covid-19 – this includes eligible social enterprises.
Minister Dodds said: "The Hardship Fund will provide much-needed support to micro-businesses which have so far been unable to access other regional and national coronavirus support measures. This new fund should mean that over 40,000 businesses in Northern Ireland will have been eligible to apply for support under the Northern Ireland Covid-19 grant schemes."
The funding is available to businesses unable to access the £10,000, £25,000 and Covid-19 Childcare Support grant schemes.
In order to ensure that the £40million budget is not exceeded, the final amounts awarded will depend on the number of successful applications. | |
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