Relying on rapid mass testing alone in the period before Christmas would be a highly risky strategy, Northern Ireland’s health minister said.
View email online | | | | | Nov 23, 2020 | | | | | | Dear reader, Businesses in Northern Ireland have suffered hugely during the pandemic, but there was some rare good news on Monday in the form of a £300m Covid support package announced by Stormont. Finance Minister Conor Murphy made the announcement, with part of the package a £95 million High Street Voucher Scheme which will give people a pre-paid card for use in local shops. There will also be £55 million to extend the Localised Restrictions Support Scheme to include non-essential retail. On a day of positive developments around the virus, it was announced that trials indicate that a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford offers 70 per cent immunity from Covid-19. This is considerably below the protection offered by vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna showed 95% protection. However, the Oxford vaccine is much cheaper, easier to store and will be easier to distribute around the world. In a continuation of a recent trend, the number of new Covid-19 infections in Northern Ireland fell again on Monday, with 280 new cases confirmed over the previous 24 hours. Another three people have died with the virus, while there are 37 people in ICU units here with Covid-19.
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| | | | | Mass testing alone not a solution in period before Christmas says Health Minister Robin Swann | | | | | | Relying on rapid mass testing alone in the period before Christmas would be a highly risky strategy, Northern Ireland’s health minister said. | | | | |
| | | | | | | This year’s pandemic has shown how reliant we are on rural communities - Minister Edwin Poots | | In the last of our Changed Lives series, DAERA Minister Edwin Poots acknowledges the challenges faced by farmers and those in rural areas during the pandemic and pays tribute to their resilience |
| | | | | | All frontline officers get spitguards despite human rights objections | | All frontline officers are to be issued with spit and bite guards, after the PSNI piloted a scheme which saw them used 70 times since mid-March. |
| | | | | | NI artist Dawn Crothers draws global audience to online art tutorials | | A Belfast artist trying to relieve the boredom of lockdown recently attracted 1,500 people to an online painting tutorial. |
| | | | | | LIVE BLOG - New direct flights to Qatar, New York and Boston could be part of NI’s Covid-19 economic recovery reveals Diane Dodds | | Economy Minister, Diane Dodds, has revealed a proposal put forward by Belfast International Airport to launch new flights to the Qatari capital, Doha, New York and Boston could help to shape Northern Ireland’s economic recovery from the impact of Covid-19. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | 100,000 NI dental patients could lose all access to care as a result of Covid pressures, warns BDA | | Around 100,000 of the most vulnerable dental patients across Northern Ireland could be left without access to care if Covid-19 pressures on practices are not addressed, according to the British Dental Association (BDA). |
| | | | | | | | | | | | ‘Growing dissent and anger’ among churchgoers over Covid lockdowns: Rev Norman Hamilton | | Former Presbyterian moderator Rev Norman Hamilton said he senses “growing dissent” in the church community over the ‘circuit breaker’ lockdowns. |
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