Richard Morgan
BBC News NI business reporter

Northern Ireland-based bus firm Hannon Coach has told BBC News NI it has suspended its Belfast to Glasgow express service for six weeks.

The last service will run on Monday afternoon.

The route had experienced an increase in demand following the collapse of Flybe.

Image source, Getty

However, following government advice around unnecessary travel the service will no longer operate.

Marketing manager Owen McLaughlin spoke to BBC News NI in February as summer bookings had already dropped significantly due to the spread of coronavirus in Asia

With the ongoing crisis, medical students are being deployed on the frontline against coronavirus "earlier than expected".

Image source, Getty Images

That's according to Andrew Dawson, from the Department of Health, who outlines that the deployment involves:

• 250 medical students
• 880 third year nursing students
• 120 allied health professionals
• 240 social workers

He tells the health committee the department is liaising with universities.

Northern Ireland's Secretary of State says protecting people was at the heart of the government’s strategy to mitigate the effects of Covid-19.

Brandon Lewis says the government promised to "work hand-in-glove with the executive, the Irish government and business leaders" to guarantee measures were in place to protect families and communities.

“While we cannot guarantee that no-one will suffer hardship, we will do our utmost to support individuals, families and businesses," he adds.

Northern Ireland will receive over £900m as part of an initial package of measures detailed by the chancellor to support its response to the outbreak.

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Ireland will receive over £900m as part of an initial package of measures detailed by the chancellor to support its response to the outbreak.

Government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers, up to a total of £2,500 a month, while businesses are shut down.

Measures outlined by Stormont’s devolved ministerial executive include a small business grant to support 27,000 businesses and a grant scheme for firms in the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors.

“We will not be found wanting when it comes to providing support to the people and business community of Northern Ireland.”

A respiratory consultant at the Ulster Hospital says the only way to reduce the "impending disaster that is coming" is to stay at home.

Dr Julia Courtney, whose personal plea to the public went viral, external on social media over the weekend, says the crisis "is so huge and the reality is that people's loved ones will die, young and old".

Image source, PA Media

"They will come into hospital and it will be so overwhelmed that there will not be ICU beds, and people that should go to ICU will not be able to access that because it will be so overwhelmed.

"We have a short space of time to make a difference to the trajectory of this, otherwise we will be in huge difficulty. We will be Italy, if not worse."

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political reporter

Chief pharmaceutical officer Cathy Harrison says 200 recently retired pharmacists could quickly come back on to the register to help tackle Covid-19.

She tells Stormont's health committee that "we're taking this very seriously, we're doing as much as we can do as soon as possible".

She added that personal protective equipment (PPE) has been provided to community pharmacies, with more coming, but that it's an issue across the health sector.

Image source, Getty Images

She adds that they are focusing on recently retired community pharmacists to begin with and will later look at bringing in those who are almost registered.

"We are having a great response from pharmacists who want to help, they are really rising to the challenge - they are seeing the first wave of this, and that's why I am calling out to pharmacists to do whatever they can."

Belfast City Council is encouraging residents to wipe down bin handles once they have been left out to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The council said the measure is to help keep council staff safe.

A final year student at St Mary's College in Londonderry has said her future has been "swept from under her feet" because of the coronavirus outbreak.

18-year-old Catriona Walsh, who was set to sit her A level exams, left school over a week ago without saying goodbye to friends or teachers.

Catriona told BBC Radio Foyle that her day-to-day life had changed overnight.

Image source, Getty Images

"It made me really sad because all of this has been taken from me," she said.

Catriona said her and many others will miss out on important days with freinds and family because of the school closures.

"I did want to have that day were I got my results and all my teachers are standing there," she said.

She added: "It's just that moment in your life that you only get to experience once."

Dr George Gardiner, an intensive care consultant at Belfast City Hospital, says the health service is in the "lull before the storm".

He told The Nolan Show it may not take long for Northern Ireland's intensive care capacity to be exceeded.

"In the Belfast Trust, we have an intensive care unit in the City Hospital, in the Mater Hospital, in the Royal Victoria Hospital and cardiac intensive care.

"Within a couple of weeks of the virus really starting to show its presence, all of those units will be full.

"We will have moved out of all of those units into other areas that we have already identified as being suitable for treating patients, but we will have already run out of the expert nurses that we need."

Image source, Getty Images

Dr Gardiner says the health trusts are using the "lull" to train other nurses, but warned the hospitals cannot "manage without the help of the public".

"We simply won't have the capacity to treat everyone unless we get the public message across to reduce contact and stop the transmission of this virus," he added.

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political reporter

New emergency laws to tackle Covid-19 will temporarily allow changes to how inquests are carried out in NI.

Stormont officials, giving evidence to the justice committee, laid out three specific changes that will take effect when the Westminster Coronavirus bill is passed.

Inquests will not require a jury if a death has been caused by Covid-19.

Deaths from natural causes will not have to be reported to the coroner, so long as a doctor can sign the death certificate and state the cause of death – to the best of their belief – even if they have not treated the person in the last 28 days.

Officials told MLAs the aim was to avoid delays building up in the inquest process, and help mitigate the impact on coroners.

World Athletics president Lord Coe has called for this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo to be postponed.

In a letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, Coe says that an Olympics in July 2020 is "neither feasible or desirable" because of the coronavirus crisis.

Read more.

Image source, Reuters

Welcome again to our readers joining us this morning as we continue our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and how it is affecting life in Northern Ireland.

If you are just joining us, here are the main Northern Ireland headlines this morning:

• Northern Ireland's health service is to access all hospital beds across the private sector.
• Children of key workers should only go to school on Monday as a "last resort", according to the Department of Education.
• Doctors and nurses on the front line in the coronavirus crisis have made a direct appeal to the UK public

Please stay with us throughout the day as we provide you with the latest updates.

The NHS is urging blood donors to keep their appointments during the coronavirus outbreak.

It said donations were 15% lower than expected last week, amid fears donors are feeling unsure about safety and whether sessions are still going ahead.

A spokesman said the impact of the drop was minimal but must be addressed.

Image source, Getty Images

NHS Blood and Transplant said calls to its contact centre to ask if donation sessions were going ahead went from about 30 to 500 a day.

It said stocks remain "good" currently, but officials are keen to reduce uncertainty by maintaining a regular amount of donations over the coming months.

Read more here.