NI families with children entitled to free school meals to receive money from Education Authority

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.

The details emerged from a daily Coronavirus briefing from the Executive in Stormont.

Perhaps one of the most encouraging pieces of information to emerge was the news that the health service in Northern Ireland should be able to cope with the demand on its services for Covid-19 in the initial wave of cases if the public adheres to social distancing and self-isolation guidelines.

The First Minister Arlene Foster and the deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill today held a conference call with the Chinese Consul General, Madam Zhang Meifang.

The discussions centred on efforts to secure more equipment to support healthcare staff and also the sharing of medical expertise from China on how to fight the Coronavirus.