Close family members will be able to say goodbye to dying relatives in care homes under new coronavirus guidelines, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

The announcement was made at the government's afternoon press briefing on the coronavirus.

Image source, Getty Images

During his speech, Mr Hancock focused on a number of new provisions being brought in for the social care sector.

Families had previously been prevented from seeing their loved ones before they died due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

Giving an update on the figures, Mr Hancock said to date 98,476 people have tested positive, with 12,868 deaths.

There have been 761 new deaths across the UK since yesterday.

Read more of this story here.

Attention parents with children - if you're looking for diversions, then check out the 3 O'Clock Club, brought to you every afternoon by BBC Northern Ireland.

Each day a new video will be posted online with practical interactive lessons on everything from arts and crafts to science and sport.

The first one, featuring Emma McIlveen turning everyday items into artistic creations, went live this afternoon and you can watch below.

Appearing in the 10-20 minute videos will be experts and well-known people and sports stars such as Ande Gray (dance and drama), Emer Maguire (science), former Ulster Rugby player, Paul Marshall, former Irish cricketer Kyle McCallan as well as Gardeners Corner presenter David Maxwell who will be presenting some gardening lessons with his daughter.

Check out more on the BBC Northern Ireland website or the BBCNI YouTube channel., external

Email photos of you taking part to 3oc@bbc.co.uk and you may even be featured on the show.

A knock-on effect of the coronavirus pandemic has been cancer patients unable to attend treatments.

Karen Worrall, whose husband Gary Sullivan has had bowel cancer for the past three years, tells Evening Extra that her husband's chemotherapy has been pushed back by three months.

"The plan this year was to give him more chemo, and that was supposed to be just before the coronavirus started," she says.

"We were very disappointed because my husband is in a lot of pain."

Image source, PA Media

She says the decision to go ahead "was really due for safety reasons" as when "you do have chemo your immune system is very low".

Ms Worrall praised the health service for providing intensive care for her husband at home for a urinary tract infection, but says cancer patients may have been sidelined amid the current pandemic.

"I know Gary has said sometimes himself that he feels he has been forgotten about," she says.

"He even commented the other day: ‘They haven’t just sent me home to die? Without any treatment?’"

It may be hard to think about going to hospital during the coronavirus crisis, but the message from doctors is clear - if you're ill with non-Covid symptoms, get them checked out.

Dr Paul McGlinchey, a consultant cardiologist with the Western Trust, says the number of people coming to hospital with common heart conditions, such as heart attacks, has "fallen away dramatically" and that the "pattern is being seen in all regions affected by the Covid-19 outbreak".

He continues: “We think that patients are avoiding seeking medical attention for their complaints because of the public advice given or perhaps because of a fear on being exposed to Covid-19 if they attend the hospital.

"We want to assure patients that there are excellent treatment options available for treating common cardiac conditions.

"Many of the common cardiac conditions such as heart attacks require urgent treatment to avoid complications."

Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political Correspondent

The three-week extension is no great surprise.

Earlier today, Health Minister Robin Swann had said the Covid-19 modelling group's work had indicated the impact of the virus may now be "less severe in the first wave than we had feared".

It would appear that the measures that have been taken so far are having an effect.

There are people who would like some relaxation of the lockdown restrictions, not least business people who are suffering badly.

But if it's working, it would have been a big surprise if they didn't continue for a while longer.

The chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has taken to Twitter after a "good discussion" with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

Simon Byrne says domestic abuse was among the issues the PSNI were working on with the Irish police force.

Now for a good news story - a 106-year-old great-grandmother, thought to be Britain's oldest patient to recover from coronavirus, has been discharged from hospital.

Connie Titchen was applauded by staff as she left Birmingham's City Hospital on Tuesday, following a three-week battle with Covid-19.

Image source, SANDWELL AND WEST BIRMINGHAM NHS TRUST

"I feel very lucky that I've fought off this virus," she said.

In a statement released by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, Ms Titchen said she could not "wait to see" her family.

The trust said it believed Ms Titchen was Britain's oldest patient to overcome coronavirus.

Read the whole story here.

A 99-year-old army veteran who has raised millions of pounds for the NHS says the response from the public has been "completely out of this world".

Tom Moore – who had aimed to raise £1,000 by completing 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden by Thursday – found out he'd hit a new fundraising milestone live on BBC TV alongside his daughter, Hannah.

Read more:Army veteran's £6m for NHS 'out of this world'

Image source, Reuters

Testing in care homes remains a major issue, not just in Northern Ireland but all across the UK.

The government has promised that all care home residents and staff with Covid-19 symptoms will be tested for coronavirus as laboratory capacity increases.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he is "determined" to ensure everyone who needs a test had access to one.

Prof Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, welcomed the pledge but predicted "logistical challenges".

Care providers have been calling for more testing for weeks, amid outbreaks at more than 2,000 homes.

Read more on this story here.

In a potentially significant move, deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill says she will not stand in the way of the Army being used in Northern Ireland's efforts to combat coronavirus.

She told the daily Stormont briefing her "number one priority is to save lives whatever is required, including using the British Army to save lives".

"I only have one objective."

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The deputy first minister had previously accused Health Minister Robin Swann of acting "unilaterally" in making two formal requests for Army assistance.

She adds: "I have raised concerns with the health minister around how that was communicated and the fact that there wasn't an executive discussion, but I've had that conversation with Robin.

"There clearly is guidelines around these things and all departments will be aware of the guidelines."

Arlene Foster says the lockdown will be reviewed in time.

She says the next phase in the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is recovery and it is right to plan for that.

"We are not at that stage yet, but what we will be doing in the executive will be planning for the recovery and of course it's right that we need to plan for the recovery," she adds.

She said this will continue over the "coming weeks".

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill says Northern Ireland remains "in the surge period" and the executive has agreed that regulations cannot yet be relaxed.

"We cannot be complacent and we must keep going for this for as long as we need to," she told the daily Stormont briefing.

"Keeping these measures in place remains a necessity."

"Lives are being saved because of these measures, lives are being saved because you are staying at home," she continued.

"We know it's not easy, but this is the time to dig in.

"This is the time to stay strong and this is the time to stay at home and to save lives."

In announcing an extension to lockdown measures, First Minister Arlene Foster acknowledges that it has been hard on a lot of people, particularly those who have autism.

She says their workplaces and schools have been closed and their routine disrupted.

She says that it is important that the public continues to observe the social distancing restrictions in place.

She urges people to remain on their guard, she says by sticking to the restrictions people will relieve pressure on the NHS and "save lives".

Northern Ireland's lockdown is to be extended by three weeks, First Minister Arlene Foster has said.

New powers to enforce guidelines on people staying at home and businesses remaining closed came into force on 28 March.

The powers outlined by the first and deputy first ministers banned gatherings of more than two people and stipulated there should be reasonable excuses for leaving the home, such as obtaining necessities, seeking medical help and exercise.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "Lives are being saved by these measures."

First Minister Arlene Foster has opened by issuing thank yous to NHS staff, front-line workers and those people "following guidelines to the letter" despite the "amazing weather" - you can watch along live by hitting the play button at the top of the page.

They don't always begin on time but First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill are due to update the public from Stormont at 15:30 - you can watch it live at the top of the page by hitting the play button.

The Health Minister Robin Swann has said the Covid-19 modelling group's work indicates that the peak in NI may now be "less severe in the first wave than we had feared".

Speaking at a Stormont assembly briefing, he added that while there are "grounds for hope", the outbreak has not yet reached the point in NI where restrictions can be relaxed.

Mr Swann said modelling is not by any means a certainty.

Lockdown measures must continue, he said, but they will be under regular review.

Image source, NI Assembly

Mr Swann also said until there is a vaccine, "we'll have to prepare for a second wave later in the year".

He also told the chamber that 250,000 gowns have been sent to England over the last fortnight and that supplies will be reimbursed when stocks arrive in England.

He put it in the context of GB sending NI 5 million items of Personal Protection Equipment.

"I make no apologies for sharing stock," he said.

Earlier we shared a warning from the Department of Justice here on scammers selling fake home-testing kits - now the National Crime Agency has done the same.

Graeme Biggar, director general of the agency's National Economic Crime Centre, says the virus was increasingly being used as "a hook to commit fraud".

Image source, PA Media

It comes as two people were arrested in London on suspicion of selling illegal tests.

No home tests have yet been certified under European safety standards - and it is illegal to sell them.

The use of home testing kits is also not advised by Public Health England.

Nikki Holland, NCA director of investigations, says: "Criminals capitalise on fear and anxiety and they will exploit any opportunity, no matter how awful, to line their pockets.

Read the full story here.

John Campbell
BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor

The Office of Budget Responsibility haven't made a prediction of what is going to happen to the economy but they are looking at one scenario - effectively that we have a three-month lockdown and then that lockdown starts to be eased.

They said that GDP, the total output of the economy, would fall by about 13% for the year.

But the other important thing to say about this scenario is they say that in 2021 we would more than bounce back and there would be GDP growth of 18%.

They also say the jobs recovery would be slow and unemployment could be above 4% by 2024, which is above where we were before this crisis.

Image source, Getty Images

But it's all about the three letters we mentioned before - V, U and L.

What most people are hoping for, and what the economists are largely modelling, is a V-shaped recovery where the line goes down very sharply but then very quickly comes back up sharply.

Worse than that would be a U-shaped recovery, where we go down and stay down for long time before we start to get activity recovering again.

The worst of all scenarios is what we call the L shape, which is where we go down and we never get a recovery.

A Ballykelly seating specialist company, Seating Matters, is, like many other businesses across Northern Ireland, playing their part to help protect front-line healthcare workers.

The family-owned company has switched production from therapeutic chairs to manufacturing and producing "box shields" that help protect doctors from infection in intensive care units.

Martin Tierney, the owner, tells BBC Radio Foyle that the transparent shields allow anaesthetists to safely perform intubation and extubation procedures, reducing the likelihood of cross-contamination.

Image source, Getty Images

He says the company made the design public and free - now the shields are being made by firms in Germany, Portugal and the United States.

"We are not here to make this a business, we are here to try and help the front-line care givers and clinicians as best we can," Mr Tierney says.

"It is a not-for-profit venture, just to get the help to where it's needed the most."