Coronavirus briefing: Northern Ireland deaths continue to rise

The managing director of a Magherafelt manufacturing firm which has gone into production of personal protective equipment, says he has been &quote;blown away by support&quote; from his staff.

View email online

News   What's On   Lifestyle              Mar 31, 2020           Good evening, Tuesday saw Northern Ireland suffer another six deaths related to Covid-19, bringing the total  number of deaths here to 28.  Another 53 people in the Province have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to the Public Health Agency.  The message continues to be that staying at home will save lives, with TV personality Gloria Hunniford calling for the Northern Ireland public to heed government advice and stay at home "for our own good". Away from the constant news diet of coronavirus, BBC Northern Ireland said farewell to one of its best-known and most popular broadcasters on Tuesday. Noel Thompson retired after four decades. He started working for the broadcaster way back in 1979.  Alistair Bushe, Editor  Here are some of the day's main developments: A further six people have died in Northern Ireland with COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. According to the Public Health Agency a further 53 people have also been diagnosed as having coronavirus. The report from the PHA adds that the 'cumulative number of Trust deaths associated with COVID-19 is 28'. Northern Ireland's charities and social enterprises have appealed for help to save 45,000 jobs with many facing a "financial meltdown" due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A group of charitable representative bodies including CO3, Social Enterprise NI (SENI), the Rural Community Network (RCN), the Community Foundation for NI and Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) is calling for Stormont to step in. The groups said traditional fund-raising has dried up with the closure of charity shops, childcare centres and cafes and the enforced cancellation of sponsored events from marathons to coffee mornings. It was announced today that a further 393 people who tested positive for the virus in the UK have died in the last day. This is the biggest daily total so far and brings the total number of deaths in the UK to 1,801. Senior minister Michael Gove told this evening's government media briefing that the first of thousands of new ventilators will reach the NHS next week. The latest NHS advice on coronavirus can be found at www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/             Coronavirus: NI firm aims to 'ramp up' production of frontline FaceShields           The managing director of a Magherafelt manufacturing firm which has gone into production of personal protective equipment, says he has been &quote;blown away by support&quote; from his staff.                 Charity answers calls for help as redundancies bite   A Christian charity that supports families in the Dromore area has noticed a sharp rise in requests for help due to widespread redundancies.           LIVE UPDATES: Coronavirus NI - 94 year-old 'super gran' back home after recovering from Coronavirus - Plans to build NI Coronavirus field hospital could be scrapped   A 94 year-old woman has been discharged from hospital after she recovered from COVID-19.                 View more on Coronavirus

Please note Due to the unprecedented nature of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we have launched this new daily newsletter to keep you up to date with the latest official information and advice. How to opt out of these emails We are sending these daily Coronavirus email bulletins in addition to our daily newsletter emails. If you would like to opt out of only these additional Public Interest emails, and continue to receive your regular daily newsletters, please click here.         You have received this email as you are opted in to newsletters from the Belfast News Letter, published by JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. To manage your individual newsletter preferences with the Belfast News Letter, please click here and log in to your account.     Alternatively you can update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive from JPIMedia Publishing Ltd, or unsubscribe from all future emails.     JPIMedia Publishing Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with registered number 11499982, having its registered address at Third Floor, 1 King William Street, London, England, EC4N 7AF, United Kingdom. We will process your personal data in accordance with our privacy policy.