Steve McGookinWelcome to Northern Slant’s weekly round-up of local virus-related items you might have missed. The next update will appear on 26 June. Previous updates are here, for the weeks ending:
You might like to read the thoughts of some of our contributors – and perhaps add your own – on ‘Hopes for Northern Ireland.’
See Also:
Surgery and Trauma: A Junior Doctor’s Perspective of Lockdown and Why We Can’t Repeat it – June 18
Lockdown lore, from Newry to Indonesia by Fionnbharr Rodgers – 16 June
How churches can continue to function during lockdown by Jason Sime – 6 May
The impact of Covid-19 on farming and food production by Ben McAteer – 5 May
From ‘Flattening the Curve’ to ‘Bending the Curve’? Lessons from responses to Coronavirus for addressing our planetary emergency by John Barry – 21 April
And read a first-person account from the beginning of the pandemic by NS contributor Callum McNeill here:
Escaping The Coronavirus – February 9
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More steps to easing lockdown
Chief Medical Officers across the UK said a “steady decrease” in cases meant the Coronavirus alert level could be lowered from 4 to 3, with implications for further easing of lockdown restrictions. The news comes as NI Dept of Health figures showed the total number of Covid-19-related deaths here was now 544.
Meanwhile, as it was announced that social distancing in schools would be reduced from two to one meters, Education Minister Peter Weir said a number of schools may not be able to return to full-capacity teaching in September.
Economic impact felt in the air and on the ground
Aer Lingus could be the latest airline to shed staff as a result of restricted activity during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Belfast International Airport is seeing more passenger flights open up, even if new quarantine instructions remain disruptive.
Other virus news items this week:
Calls for hope & calls to action
Northern Slant aims to highlight some of the good news stories happening all around us. We’ll also show how communities are responding to the crisis, sharing details of how you might be able to get involved yourself.
Calls for Hope
Calls to Action
Information and Resources
Keep up with the latest updates from the Northern Ireland Department of Health here
And from Belfast City Council here
Have a good weekend.