The director of Public Health in NI, Prof Hugo Van Woerden, says testing for Covid-19 has been challenging.

He told the Health Committee at Stormont that machines have broken down and there have been shortages of reagents.

He added that testing is "only one tool in the toolbox" alongside contact tracing and social distancing and there is no backlog of people waiting to be tested.

Image source, Getty Images

"The laboratories are able to meet all the requests. As capacity increases, one has to increase the number of people the test is offered to.

"When you know your categories of priority for testing are saturated, you move to the next category.

The next stage after that is large-scale testing of the population as a whole and contact tracing."

The Professor says Public Health NI is in close co-operation with Ireland and the rest of the UK in producing antibody tests.

"As soon as they are authorised and available, we are in a position to use them."

EasyJet says it plans to keep the middle seat on its planes empty to allow for social distancing once the Covid-19 lockdown has been lifted.

The airline grounded its entire fleet at the end of March.

Image source, Getty Images

The company's chief executive Johan Lundgren says he expects the seating measure will encourage more people to fly.

"That is something that we will do because I think that is something that the customers would like to see," he said.

Read more.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne has spoken to NI Secretary Brandon Lewis about the PSNI's response to coronavirus.

It comes as a senior police officer tells the BBC that anyone travelling from home for exercise if they do not need to is in breach of lockdown restrictions.

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political reporter

The Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has published guidance for tenants and landlords during the Covid-19 outbreak.

https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/dfc-private-rented-sector-guidance-covid19_0.pdf

Image source, Getty Images

She is due to bring legislation to the assembly soon that will extend the notice-to-quit period from four weeks to 12.

The document from the department states that tenants should continue to pay their rent, but that in the event they can’t then landlords should not issue a notice seeking possession, given the hardships people are facing at present.

It also says no-one should visit properties to conduct viewings during this period, as the government has advised against people moving house during the crisis.

The Republic of Ireland is to increase its contribution to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

It follows the decision by President Donald Trump to halt US funding to the United Nations body.

Irish tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Simon Coveney has announced it will quadruple funding to the WHO bringing its contribution to €9.5m (£8.3m).

The head of the WHO said it was reviewing the impact of the US move "to ensure our work continues uninterrupted".

A blood transfusion nurse tells The Nolan Show that staff in their service are not being provided with adequate PPE and that they only have "gloves and aprons".

The nurse says her and other staff are seeing "upwards of 100 people coming in a day" and are in constant close proximity with patients to receive blood donations.

The nurse tells the show she has not seen her mother in weeks, fearing she could potentially infect her unknowingly with the disease.

The nurse adds that although blood is necessary, she feels many people are coming in simply because they are "bored as there is nothing else to do".

In a statement, the Blood Transfusion Service said they are adhering to the advice of the PHA and WHO.

It says they have taken "a number of measures" to protect staff and donors, including triaging donors, taking their temperatures, asking donors to wash their hands and increasing social distancing.

John Campbell
BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor

The Belfast-based IT firm Kainos says it is postponing the development of a new headquarters building as part of its response to coronavirus.Kainos is planning to develop offices on the site of the Movie House cinema in the city centre.The firm expects its clients in government and healthcare to be ‘more robust’ than other sectors.However, it says it is nonetheless taking ‘prudent’ measures to manage its cost base.

Aside from deferring the office project it is furloughing some staff, freezing recruitment and delaying payment of a dividend.The three most senior executives will take no salary or bonuses for six months while the remaining members of the executive team have reduced their pay by 50% and the non-executive board members have reduced their fees by 20%.The company says it has cash deposits in excess of £40m and no debt.The firm is a major supplier of digital services to the government and says it has offered its expertise for free to public organisations which are tackling coronavirus.The company says it expects its performance for the year ending March 2020 to be in line with market expectations.

We've already discussed how tough it is for families not seeing their loved ones in their last moments - but what about hospital chaplains, who are offering spiritual comfort via video call?

Father Neil Farren tells BBC Radio Foyle that hospitals are a "different" place now during the pandemic.

The priest says that the only contact he can have now with patients is over FaceTime.

Image source, Getty Images

Fr Farren tells the programme that during the calls patients want to "hear hope" and all he can do is offer them that "comfort in prayer" electronically rather than physically.

The priest says he has found a lot more people he has spoken to have found faith during these "extraordinary" times to "help pull them through".

Northern Ireland is in the strongest position of any jurisdiction in the UK and Ireland - that's according to a professor with the Public Health Agency (PHA).

Prof Hugo van Woerden is briefing MLAs at Stromont about the latest on coronavirus in NI and was answering a question from Sinn Féin's Colm Gildernew on "plans to roll out contact tracing in a meaningful way".

The professor says that "the methodology used in Northern Ireland has been successful".

"We need to use testing capacity and we need to test a lot more people in the community, he adds.

Image source, NI Assembly

Prof van Woerden says there are 50 environmental health officers who have said they are "happy to help with testing", as well as a number of medical and nursing students.

He also adds that "technology is being used to contact trace" across the world and that "mobile phone apps can help us".

You can follow along with our Stormont Live page.

There's lots happening online during lockdown to keep us entertained - but what about listening parties? Or specifically #TimsListeningParties.

If you're on Twitter, you may have seen the hashtag but if not, they're the brainchild of former Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess (pictured below).

The premise is simple - everyone puts on a specific album at the exact same time, the creators jump on social media to offer track-by-track commentary and there's a big conversation about that record every night.

“It’s a community of people who want to join in and share the same thing," Tim tells Good Morning Ulster.

"The common thing that people are saying that they never get the chance to listen to an album in its entirety anymore because of time and they’re getting a lot of comfort out of listening to an album with someone involved in making the album."

Image source, Tim Burgess

Last night, it was the turn of local indie rock heroes Ash and their classic debut 1977, with drummer Rick McMurray jumping on Twitter to talk about the album.

“It was my wife who made me aware of the whole listening party idea and it’s such a simple but brilliant idea and just exactly what everyone needs right now," he tells Good Morning Ulster.

“All our fans are being taken back to when they first got to know us, they’re going back to being teenagers and for that 45 minutes you’re just unaware of everything else that’s going around in the world and you’re just in this beautiful positive community, which is what the world needs right now,” he says.

You can see what albums are coming up next on Tim's Listening Parties on this website, external or on his Twitter account, external.

The world economy already faces an economic downturn worse than the Great Depression.

But this could be followed by another “possibly much worse downturn”, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Image source, Getty Images

World governments are giving trillions of dollars in stimulus packages to help prop up their economies.

But those sovereign debts they're racking up may push the global economy into a second recession, the EIU warns.

Read more

A Londonderry hotel manager says the government must give "greater clarity" around it's coronavirus lockdown exit strategy and advise businesses on how they will be able to operate in the future.

Ciaran O'Neill, who employs 81 staff at Bishops Gate hotel, all of whom are now on furlough, tells BBC Radio Foyle local businesses need to know what lockdown being lifted "step-by-step" will look like.

Replying to Mrs Foster's comments on Good Morning Ulster, Mr O'Neill says businesses have been asking the first minister questions around the exit strategy for "a number of weeks"

Image source, Getty Images

Businesses need more information, more guidance and what those support packages will look like for the phased return, Mr O'Neill tells the programme.

"We need some dates," Mr O'Neill stresses.

Mr O'Neill believes the tourism sector could lose at least 20,000 jobs in the next three to six months and any support package should reflect that.

"Hospitality was the first to close down and will probably be one of the last to open," he says.

Following our previous post on saying goodbye to loved ones - earlier Good Morning Ulster spoke to Brenda Doherty, whose mother, Ruth Burke, died in hospital on 24 March.

Her family were not allowed to be there, a process that was "very difficult", says Mrs Doherty.

One of her fears had been that her mother would die alone.

“Mum wasn’t alone - she had a nurse, Sharon, who we are indebted to, and that has brought us so much comfort,” she says.

Image source, Getty Images

“Even if I could’ve been present, there are still things I couldn’t have done with my mum. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to hold her hand, I wouldn’t have been able to stroke her hair or kiss her on the head, that would’ve been so frustrating."

At the funeral, the family were not allowed near the coffin either.

Mrs Doherty says: “My mummy’s job her whole life was to keep us safe. My mum would not have wanted any of us to put ourselves in a situation that she felt like she was putting any of us, or our loved ones, in danger.”

A major talking point today is the possibility that people may be allowed to say goodbye to loved ones dying in hospital from Covid-19.

On Tuesday Health Secretary Matt Hancock said new guidelines would allow it in England while First Minister Arlene Foster said this morning that the health minister was considering changing the rules in Northern Ireland.

Dr John Kyle, a Belfast councillor who has come out of retirement as a medic to join the front line against the virus, called for a change last week but the Department of Health said it was not being looked at.

Speaking to Good Morning Ulster this morning, he says personal protective equipment (PPE) should be provided to allow people to say their goodbyes.

“Every case is different and every family is different but I feel that every family should be able to say goodbye, tell that person how much they care and express their love, provided it is safe to do that,” he says.

Julian O'Neill
BBC News NI Home Affairs Correspondent

The PSNI says it remains its view that anyone travelling by car to a location to exercise is in breach of the lockdown regulations.

However, it says it is for officers to make “judgement calls” in individual cases.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd told the Nolan Show just over 200 fines have been issued for breaking the rules on social distancing, but only four relate to travel for exercise.

Image source, Getty Images

He says the PSNI's interpretation of the regulations is "supported by legal opinion".

The Republic of Ireland's laws around social distancing sets a 2km limit on travel for exercise purposes, but there is no distance stipulation in UK or NI regulations.

Mr Todd says an individual cannot travel "more than modest distances" to exercise.

The Nolan Show this morning has been drilling down into what exactly is considered reasonable exercise - and what is a breach of the law.

Appearing on the show PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd says he understand people's "concerns around clarity".

He was speaking after Brian, a recovering cancer patient from Portstewart, explained he had to travel away from his home by car to walk on flatter ground.

Responding to the case, Mr Todd said such an example would be permissible.

Image source, Getty Images

He says the use of police discretion to enforce the law had not been discussed with the attorney general, but was supported by legal advice taken by the PSNI.

"You may think that people can be left to be reasonable, but when it is left for people to choose for themselves you end up with 160 cars in the car park at Murlough Bay on a sunny day," says ACC Todd.

Northern Ireland is set to publish figures for coronavirus-related deaths in care homes tomorrow.

Across the UK, just how big is the problem?

A story today takes a look at the extent of the issue and what some of the issues are around getting exact figures.

Image source, Getty Images

Last week, more than 150 student nurses volunteered to join the Western Trust in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Among them was third-year Ulster University nursing student Tonya Webb - she tells BBC Radio Foyle about her abrupt end to university life and swapping lectures in the classroom for long shifts on the ward.

"I felt it is the right thing to do, it's not a decision I took lightly," Mrs Webb says.

Image source, Tonya Webb

The nursing student says she feels "academically prepared" to join, but knew as a student, she would "continue to learn and grow in this new environment".

The 35-year-old said she was "disappointed" how quickly her university life ended, but that the graduation celebrations are "merely postponed".

"They will happen at a later date with all the amazing Ulster nurses that helped in the battle of Covid-19," Mrs Webb adds.

With warnings of a second coronavirus wave when lockdown restrictions are relaxed, Arlene Foster says the Northern Ireland Executive will take a gradual approach to easing guidelines.

On Wednesday, Arlene Foster said restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 would last until at least 9 May.

Mrs Foster says the executive's chief scientific adviser has warned that a second wave of the virus was likely.

The number of hospital deaths in NI stands at 140.

Later, Downing Street is expected to extend the lockdown in England for a further three weeks.

Northern Ireland has already moved to keep the measures in place.

Read more here.

Here's an update on a story we first reported yesterday, when a care home director told Good Morning Ulster that care home staff were to be allowed to swab residents with Covid-19 symptoms.

At the time we had no confirmation from the care home regulator, RQIA, but in a statement it has said that all symptomatic residents should be swabbed but that "details on logistics were to follow".

This morning, Pauline Shepherd, who is chief executive of the Independent Health and Care Providers (IHCP), says it's a welcome move but that communication about proposed implementation has been poor.

Image source, Getty Images

"I feel like we're taking one step forward and two back and we seem to hit the same difficulty in terms of communication and that causes great concern in care homes. We hit it with PPE and now with testing," she tells Good Morning Ulster.

The RQIA statement says nursing homes can swab patients with suitable PPE, while at residential homes the swabbing is conducted by the District Nursing team.

Ms Shepherd stressed that staff need "proper training in the process, as it's not the same as taking a flu swab, this is a virus that has to be managed in a completely different way".