Will NI schools close a week early for Christmas?

Northern Ireland's hospitality sector is seeking assurances from Stormont that it can reopen on December 11.

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Subscribe              Nov 25, 2020           Dear reader,   The speculation that Northern Ireland's schools might close a week early for the Christmas holidays refuses to go away.    The News Letter understands that several schools in Northern Ireland have told parents/carers that schools could close for Christmas one week early on December 11.   Such a move would see schools in the Province close for three weeks, which health advisers apparently claim would help reduce the coronavirus infection rate.    In a week of largely positive announcements on the economic front, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that Northern Ireland is to receive another £1bn of extra funding to deal with the economic devastation caused by Covid-19.    The Department of Health here has clarified the apparent anomaly yesterday in the total number of new coronavirus infections in Northern Ireland.    When confirming that another 533 people have tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, the department's dashboard said that future was higher than expected because of an "issue with the flow of data" on pillar two tests (lab tests carried out through the NHS nationwide programme) on Tuesday.    Another seven people with Covid-19 have also died 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. 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.           Hospitality chiefs in plea to Stormont - let us know if we can definitely reopen on December 11           Northern Ireland's hospitality sector is seeking assurances from Stormont that it can reopen on December 11.                 Redeployment under consideration for tour guides at The Gobbins   Staff at one of East Antrim's main visitor attractions look set to be redeployed to other duties by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council  due to uncertainty over tourism recovery.           NI Christmas relaxations CONFIRMED - this is what you CAN and CANNOT do   The relaxation of some of the Covid-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland for Christmas have been agreed.           No action 230 days after 'blatant' law-breaking at republican funeral – DUP man says the 'only conclusion' is PSNI treats SF differently   The PSNI has still not finished preparing a file against those involved in the funeral of a Sinn Fein figure which took place in early April.           Dentists are only NHS workers living on their savings during pandemic, warns BDA   Dentists across Northern Ireland are carrying dangerous levels of stress, with some unable to tell their spouses that their homes are at risk due to financial pressures, the British Dental Association (BDA) has warned.           Opinion: MLAs should get themselves to church – they'll see how safe it is   On Friday November 20, the News Letter reported that Belfast restaurant, Yugo, had posted a story on Facebook declaring "Christmas cancelled", and had made a statement which included this message: "Anyone involved in Stormont has a lifetime ban from both Yugo restaurants. And don't try to sneak a take away - we know where you live."                 View more on Coronavirus

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