'I'm on bended knees praying our lives don't get any tougher': mum of autistic teenager reveals impact of the pandemic on their lives

The chair of the Stormont Education Committee has described as "totally unacceptable" a claim made by teachers in Northern Ireland that the Department of Education has not provided guidance on how best to invigilate in person examinations in an environment conducive to being labelled 'Covid-safe'.

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Subscribe              Nov 18, 2020           Dear reader,   A hospital to rehabilitate recovering Covid-19 patients is due to open in Co Antrim on Friday.   The Nightingale facility at Whiteabbey Hospital is for those who are well enough to leave acute medical services but would benefit from care which cannot be provided at home. The facility was visited by Health Minister Robin Swann on Wednesday.   New figures have revealed that Covid-19 has been the underlying cause of 808 deaths in Northern Ireland this year.   According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra), there have been 902 deaths this year where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. The agency says this would indicate that the virus was the primary cause of death in 89.6 per cent of all deaths which mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.    The statistics also show that cancer deaths in Northern Ireland are up significantly on last year.    Another 11 Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded in Northern Ireland, with 518 people diagnosed with the virus over the last 24 hours. A total of 452 people with Covid-19 are being treated in hospital with 44 of those in intensive care.  Stay safe   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.           'Totally unacceptable' - GCSE exams due take place on Monday but teachers claim they have not been told how to carry them out safely           The chair of the Stormont Education Committee has described as "totally unacceptable" a claim made by teachers in Northern Ireland that the Department of Education has not provided guidance on how best to invigilate in person examinations in an environment conducive to being labelled 'Covid-safe'.                 I'm on bended knees praying our lives don't get any tougher, says mum who is carer for autistic son   "I've always tried to find a positive no matter the challenge, but I've had to dig deeper than ever before (during the pandemic) to muster the strength to be the best mum to Nathan," says Co Tyrone mother Daphney Scott.           Running on empty - NI hotel occupancy sinks to 23% as sector pleads for support   New figures have revaled that hotel occupancy has plummeted to 23% in Northern Ireland, as the impact of coronavirus restrictions continues to devastate the secotr.           Thousands raised in GoFundMe for NI woman who lost both parents within hours of each other to COVID-19   Thousands of pounds have been raised in a GoFundme by a NI woman for her best friend.           Vulnerable school children in NI are being 'chemically restrained' because support services have been affected by Covid-19   Some of Northern Ireland's most vulnerable school children have been 'chemically restrained' during the Covid-19 pandemic because of an absence of support services, the Education Committee has heard.                 View more on Coronavirus

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