Return to school 'may not be possible for some time'

Almost 40,000 students studying in Northern Ireland will receive a £500 payment to compensate for Covid disruption.

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Subscribe              Feb 4, 2021           Dear reader,   Many parents around Northern Ireland will be concerned at suggestions from a teaching union that it could be "some time" before their children are back in the classroom.    While the other devolved nations like Wales and Scotland are moving on the return of schools this month, Northern Ireland's education minister Peter Weir has followed England in saying there will be no face-to-face teaching until March 8 at the earliest.    But now the National Education Union's (NEU) Education Recovery Plan says the new variants of coronavirus will mean that even when children return to the classroom, numbers should be restricted.    Another 10 deaths of people who had coronavirus have been recorded in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has confirmed.    In addition, another 412 positive tests for Covid-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours, with the total number of positive cases in the last week totalling 3,205.   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.             NI students to get £500 pandemic payment           Almost 40,000 students studying in Northern Ireland will receive a £500 payment to compensate for Covid disruption.                 Health Trust confirms vaccine doses were wasted   A Northern Ireland Health Trust has confirmed the number doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been wasted.           GPs are calling for these symptoms to be added to the official Covid-19 list   As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread, most of us will know the three main symptoms to keep an eye out for, as listed by the NHS.           Latest rules on cash payments at UK supermarkets - including Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's   Supermarkets are encouraging customers to avoid making cash payments in an effort to curb the spread of new Covid-19 variants across the UK.           Single dose of Pfizer Covid vaccine 'highly protective' after three weeks - how it compares to Oxford jab   A single dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine offers a high level of protection after three weeks, a new study has found.           Ten additional Covid related deaths recorded and 412 new infections detected in last 24 hours   The Department of Health (DoH) has recorded 10 additional Covid-19 related deaths in Northern Ireland in the last 24 hours.           Here's why social distancing may be needed until spring 2022 despite Covid vaccines   Social distancing may have to continue until spring 2022 despite the rollout of effective Covid-19 vaccines, a leading scientist has claimed.           Oxford Covid vaccine team is working on a 'second generation' jab - here's how long it could take   Researchers who worked on the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are already working on a so-called "second generation" Covid jab, designed to be effective against mutated strains of the virus.           Teletext Holidays is being investigated over missing refunds - your rights if you've booked   Teletext Holidays is being investigated after hundreds of customers complained they had been denied a refund over cancelled trips.           People who have had Covid could be twice as likely to suffer vaccine side effects   People who have already had Covid-19 are twice as likely to suffer side effects from the vaccine, according to a symptom app.                 View more news

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