Steve McGookinWelcome to Northern Slant’s weekly round-up of local virus-related items you might have missed. The next update will appear on 7 August. Previous updates are here, for the weeks ending:
July 3, July 10, July 17, July 24;
June 26, June 19, June 12, June 5;
You might like to read the thoughts of some of our contributors – and perhaps add your own – on ‘Hopes for Northern Ireland.’
See Also:
Will Mental Health Issues Be The Next Wave? by Kevin McAteer – July 7
Putting Wellbeing at the Centre of a ‘Build Back Better’ Recovery – July 6
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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Covid-tracing app goes live
Northern Ireland is the first part of the UK to have a working Covid-tracing app, after thousands of people downloaded StopCovidNI last night, despite some initial glitches.
News of the app comes as the latest NI Department of Health figures for Covid-related deaths were announced, showing no further deaths, but eight more positive cases detected.
Meanwhile, shielding has ended for thousands of people.
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Mixed feelings about school return plan
Schools in Northern Ireland are preparing a range of different approaches as pupils get ready to return to school. Education Minister Peter Weir said going back is “achievable” for all pupils, but said there was no additional money in the budget to help with preparations, as teachers’ unions warned it was going to be a “massive issue.”
Meanwhile, south of the border…
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Other virus news items this week
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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
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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.