Coronavirus: NI schools shutdown confirmed and business rescue package announced

All schools in Northern Ireland will close from Monday onwards as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic intensifies.
The Northern Ireland Assembly's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at Stormont Castle. Picture: Jonathan Porter/PressEyeThe Northern Ireland Assembly's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at Stormont Castle. Picture: Jonathan Porter/PressEye
The Northern Ireland Assembly's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at Stormont Castle. Picture: Jonathan Porter/PressEye

The radical new measure was announced on Wednesday, along with details of financial support for businesses facing closure due to the nationwide shutdown.

Six new cases of the virus have been confirmed bringing the Northern Ireland total to 68.

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Announcing the school closures, First Minister Arlene Foster said: “The societal and economic impact of this measure will be enormous as parents will have to adjust their routine to deal with this unplanned long-term closure.

“Our medical advice was to delay this step as long as possible as the closure will take us beyond the natural break for the summer.”

Schools in the rest of the UK will also close for several weeks from Friday.

Several schools in Northern Ireland have closed their gates already to allow teachers to prepare for the alternative arrangements.

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At a joint press conference with Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Mrs Foster said a combined approach was necessary to fight the “invisible enemy” of coronavirus.

“Despite our political differences, we recognise that the coronavirus has no political considerations. It will not discriminate. It is neither British nor Irish, unionist or nationalist,” she said.

Ms O’Neill paid tribute to our health professionals, and said the community needed to “come together as never before” before revealing details of the business support packages.

“An immediate grant of £10,000 will be provided to all small businesses who are eligible for the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme,” Ms O’Neill said.

“This will ease their immediate cash flow pressures.”

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Ms O’Neill said the money was being made available to the most vulnerable businesses.

She also said she would explore how best to support people who rent as well as other measures, and added: “We are pledging to you all that the sole focus has now turned to doing everything that is necessary to secure our public services, to ensure our employers, workers and their families are supported.

“Our power-sharing government is determined to ensure that we act swiftly and decisively in your interests.”

The death toll across the UK by Wednesday night had reached 104.

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In Italy – the worst affected county in Europe – the number of deaths has risen by 475 in one day and now stands at almost 3,000.

The Ulster Teachers’ Union (UTU) has said children must not become “collateral damage” as a result of the crisis.

UTU general secretary Jacquie White said: “The situation is unprecedented and our way forward as yet relatively unknown but our priority must be – and it always is – our pupils’ well-being and education.

“They must be able to continue in a healthy childhood through these extraordinary circumstances, especially the most vulnerable. The must not become collateral damage.”

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Ms White said the school closures “will be a huge task for our teachers, parents, communities and societies,” and added: “It will not be easy as the sheer scale of what we’re facing means a range of solutions may have to be tried before each area knows what works best for it.

“We would ask for patience and for support for our teachers as they continue in the frontline of this crisis to ensure our children’s childhoods are not blighted by these unparalleled times.”

Trade unions on both sides of the Irish border have called on both governments to ensure that workers’ incomes are protected as the crisis escalates.

ICTU assistant general secretary Owen Reidy said: “If the developments in the Republic of Ireland are anything to go by, we are looking at huge swathes of lay-offs over the next number of days and weeks.

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“They have already commenced in the hospitality sector with significant announcements in the last 24 hours. With reduced consumer demand as the crisis bites further, we will see sound and viable businesses being forced to close their doors.

“Some of them may not open again. The implications for workers affected will be grave. Add this to the fact that many workers may have to self-isolate, some will inevitably get sick, many will have to mind children when the schools close.”

The union leader said the new financial support packages announced in recent days will “not be enough” on their own, and added: “In many countries, governments, employers and unions are meeting daily to discuss the crisis and how we can together mitigate the worst for everyone. Some have come up with creative arrangements to protect workers’ incomes.

“The UK’s current statutory sick pay arrangements of £94 per week are totally insufficient and do not approach the financial reality of family life in the UK.”

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Blood donors have been urged to keep donating, as people start to take the recommended social distancing measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

NHS Blood and Transplant said that its donor sessions are still open around the country.

Extra infection control safety precautions are being put in place at donation centres and people should continue to donate as normal to ensure hospitals had the stocks that they need.

However, anyone with cold or flu symptoms is requested not to attend sessions.

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London has suffered from an accelerated spread of Covid-19 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not ruled out placing the capital on lockdown – imposing more stringent measures that the rest of the UK.

He said he was reluctant to issue edicts restricting lives, and implored people to follow the advice to socially distance themselves to slow the spread of the virus.

“But let’s be absolutely in no doubt that these are very, very important choices that we are now making in our daily lives,” the PM told his daily coronavirus press conference on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the PM had his weekly audience with the Queen conducted over the phone as the 93-year-old monarch prepares to socially distance herself at Windsor Castle for at least a few weeks.

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The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam is another casualty of the coronavirus outbreak, organisers have said, after exploring a number of possible alternative locations.

It will be the first time the event has not taken place since it began 64 years ago.