Chief Medical Officer cautions ‘the virus has not gone away’

Scientific advice 'remains unchanged' on 1 metre distancing in NI

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News   What's On   Lifestyle              Jun 23, 2020           Good afternoon  Northern Ireland looks as if it won't make an immediate change to its social distancing guidelines despite the prime minister's big announcement on Tuesday afternoon.  Boris Johnson confirmed that social distancing in England is to be reduced from two metres to one metre as he outlined that restaurants, pubs and hairdressers will reopen in England from July 4.  However, during this afternoon's Stormont media briefing, both health minister Robin Swann and chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride, confirmed there will be no immediate change here in Northern Ireland. Mr Swann did leave the way open for a change soon however, hinting that there could be developments as early as Thursday when the Executive meets again. Arlene Foster said on Twitter that the social distancing announcement from the government was "very significant".  The discussion came amidst the backdrop of the latest coronavirus statistics being released by the Department of Health. One more person with Covid-19 has died in Northern Ireland while significantly, once again not a single new case of coronavirus was recorded here over a 24-hour period. Two people with Covid-19 remain in intensive care. 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. Signing up will get you faster-loading articles, fewer adverts and access to exclusive content and events when we run them. To learn more, visit our Subscriptions page here.           Scientific advice 'remains unchanged' on 1 metre distancing in NI           Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride has said that scientific advice 'remans unchanged' on 1 metre distancing guidelines.                 Death toll rises to 546 after one more person loses life   One person has died in Northern Ireland in the last 24 hours with COVID-19, according to the Department of Health.           Two metre social distancing down to 'one metre plus' in England   Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has decided to reduce the two metre social distancing rule down to 'one metre plus' for England only.           Extension of free school meal support held up by victims' compensation row   A series of Stormont spending reallocations, including money for free school meal support over the summer, have been held up over a row about Troubles compensation.           Sammy Wilson: Teaching unions should apologise to teachers   Teaching unions have "given the profession a bad name through intransigence" and owe the teachers an apology, Sammy Wilson has said.           Guidance for schools on curriculum planning for the 2020/21 academic year published   Education Minister Peter Weir has published guidance for schools on curriculum planning           Call for clarificiation on re-opening of fitness studios   Cookstown SDLP Councillor Kerri Hughes has written to the Economy Minister Diane Dodds seeking clarification of the date businesses in the fitness industry will be able to re-open.           Owner of 15 cinemas across NI calls for clarity on when they can reopen   The owner of 15 cinemas in NI, including the Omniplex in Craigavon and Belfast, has called for more clarity on when they can reopen.                 View more on Coronavirus

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