Coronavirus briefing: Two more deaths in Northern Ireland recorded

The families of school children in Northern Ireland who receive free school meals are to receive money from the Education Authority, it has been confirmed.

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News   What's On   Lifestyle              Apr 1, 2020           Good evening all, We can expect the peak of the first wave of coronavirus deaths to start in Northern Ireland next week.  Stormont's Health Minister Robin Swann said experts have projected that this wave could lead to up to 3,000 deaths in the Province.  Expert modelling data released by the minister predicts that the peak of the epidemic is expected to begin on Monday and last until April 20. If this all sounds very scary indeed, then at least the worst case scenario of 3,000 deaths is down considerably on earlier predictions.  The impact of this crisis is so widespread. No part of society is untouched. On Wednesday Translink said it will need a £100m injection of funds after the crisis ends just to continue providing a public transport network across Northern Ireland.   Take care. Alistair Bushe, Editor    Here are some of the day's main developments: There have been two more deaths from COVID-19 in Northern Ireland in the last 24 hours. An additional 103 people in NI have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Public Health Agency. They say the number of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases in NI is now 689. Measures to ensure that the children of key workers can attend school during the Covid-19 emergency are not being fully adhered to, some parents have complained. The latest directive from the NI Executive on Tuesday said that a school place should be available for those children, even if only one parent was an NHS employee or other key worker. However, not all schools are adhering to the Department of Education (DE) directive. The families of school children in Northern Ireland who receive free school meals are to receive money from the Education Authority, it has been confirmed. The Education Authority has set up BACS payments for 51,000 families covering 93,000 children who would normally receive free school meals. As a result of the move announced last week by the Education Minister Peter Weir, families can expect to receive £2.70 per child per day for each day of term their schools are closed. The first payments are being issued today, tomorrow and Friday to families.. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people in the UK who have died after contracting the virus. In the last 24 hours 563 people across the country have sadly died. The total number of UK Covid-19 deaths since the outbreak started now stands at 2,352. The Wimbledon tennis championships have been cancelled for the first time since the Second World War. The full government advice on what you need to do during the current lockdown can be found at www.gov.uk/coronavirus               NI families with children entitled to free school meals to receive money from Education Authority           The families of school children in Northern Ireland who receive free school meals are to receive money from the Education Authority, it has been confirmed.                 Coronavirus: Praise for car dealer who gifts car to NHS nurse so she can get to night shift   A Magherafelt car dealer has been praised on social media after gifting a car to a nurse.                 View more on Coronavirus

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