Sadness at death of inspirational Captain Sir Tom Moore

The daughters of a Larne woman who passed away due to Covid have spoken of the family's heartbreak at the loss of a wife, mother and grandmother who was very much the centre of their lives.

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Subscribe              Feb 2, 2021           Dear reader,   Everyone across Northern Ireland will be saddened by the news that Captain Sir Tom Moore has died after contracting Covid-19.    Captain Tom, who was an inspiration to millions as he helped raise over £32m for the NHS during lockdown, had been admitted to Bedford Hospital on Sunday after initially fighting pneumonia and then contracting Covid.    For the second year in succession, GCSE and A-levels grades in Northern Ireland will be calculated by the schools themselves.    Education Minister Peter Weir confirmed on Tuesday that with exams unable to take place as normal because of Covid-19, schools will instead provide evidence on each pupil's performance to determine grades.   The school's use of evidence in calculating the grades will be subject to review by the examinations body CCEA.    Another 17 deaths related to Covid-19 have been recorded by the Department of Health in the last 24 hours.    Each of Northern Ireland's 11 council areas recorded a death during that period while nine of those who lost their lives were female and eight were male.    Another 447 positive tests for Covid-19 were also recorded.      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 subscription page.             Larne family's heartbreak over loss due to Covid pandemic           The daughters of a Larne woman who passed away due to Covid have spoken of the family's heartbreak at the loss of a wife, mother and grandmother who was very much the centre of their lives.                 NEW: These are the 40 postcodes with the highest number of new positive Covid-19 cases in the last seven days   Northern Ireland health chiefs believe the next two weeks will be the worst of the pandemic since it began in March 2020.           Agreement at Stormont for special school staff vaccines   An agreement has been reached at Stormont that would see special school staff receive coronavirus vaccinations, the News Letter understands.           Quarter of a million doses of Covid vaccine administered in Northern Ireland   Almost a quarter of a million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Northern Ireland.           Supply of AstraZeneca vaccines in NI to reach 500,000 doses by next month as ramp-up continues   Around half-a-million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine should be delivered to Northern Ireland by "early March", a leading doctor has said.           Could every adult in the UK be vaccinated against Covid by May? The rumours explored   The UK's vaccination programme is ahead of schedule, and some civil servants are suggesting that every adult could have been offered a first jab by the beginning of May, according to Sky News.            Russian vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid - how it works   Russia's vaccine is 91.6 per cent effective against symptomatic Covid-19, interim trial results show.                 View more news

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