| Dear reader, Monday was an enormously significant day for Northern Ireland, with many school children returning to the classroom for the first time in five months. Primary seven pupils, and sixth formers, were among those returning to school with the last school year curtailed for most at the end of March by the coronavirus lockdown. Many more pupils will return over the course of this week and into next week. Parents and teachers reported a mixture of relief and nervousness as classes resumed, although there was criticism from the Ulster Teacher Union that the return had come too soon. Its general secretary Jacquie White claimed that protocols for Covid-19 in schools here were still not clear. In addition, Justin McCamphill, NASUWT national official in Northern Ireland, claimed that 77 per cent of teachers here don’t feel their school is safe for pupils to return to. After the Department of Health reported one of the highest ever number of new cases in a 24-hour period on Sunday, 119, the number of new cases confirmed on Monday was much lower at 10. However, a total of 359 people have tested positive over the last week. No new deaths were reported while one person with Covid-19 is currently in ICU in Northern Ireland. Alistair Bushe, Editor Want total access to all of our online content? You can subscribe to our website, newsletter.co.uk for just £1 a month for 3 months - and it couldn't be easier.
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