Image source, Ali McCrossan

That's it for our coverage of Northern Ireland's battle with the coronavirus for today.

We'll be back early tomorrow morning to bring you all the latest developments.

We leave you with a photo of sunset over Belfast Lough, by Ali McCrossan

Have a good evening.

On a cheerful note... while many people may be struggling to find love in lockdown, Arnie the ostrich has been strutting his stuff at Belfast Zoo in a bid to impress a female ostrich.

The zoo has been sharing videos during the coronavirus pandemic to let people know how the animals are getting on while it remains closed to the public.

Earlier we reported how some parents of children with special needs in NI have been struggling since schools closed due to the pandemic.

One school that has stayed open is Arvalee in Omagh, County Tyrone.

Principal Jonathan Gray told Evening Extra that at the start of lockdown school staff discussed the impact it would have on pupils.

“Every one of them is vulnerable, every one of them needs our support,” he says.

Image source, PA Media

“We opened under the general heading of: 'If you need us we will try and be there and do what we can with what we have,'" he said.

Mr Gray says when they have heard about any pupil experiencing distress or heightened anxiety, they have offered them an opportunity to return to school.

“Because we were able to open and have the resources to open we were able to meet that need as best we can,” he added.

He said about 20-22% of pupils have been able to access the school during lockdown.

Marie-Louise Connolly
BBC News NI Health Correspondent

Scientists at Ulster University are calling on the public to get involved in a study to determine how many people have been infected with Covid-19.

A simple home test kit which involves a pin prick on the finger reveals whether or not you have the Covid-19 antibody, which means you have been exposed to the virus.

The study, which eventually hopes to test over 3,000 people, will help inform government policy for future pandemics.

The kit resembles a pregnancy test, with a double line proving a positive result within 15 minutes.

Anyone who thinks they have had coronavirus has been encouraged to contact the university if they are interested in taking part.

They should email pandemicstudy@ulster.ac.uk

Those who take part will send their result back to the university, where it will be used for research.

Meanwhile in a separate study healthcare staff at the Belfast Health trust are being tested for the antibody.

Since Saturday more than 3,000 people have been tested. It will be rolled out across the other health trusts over the next four weeks.

A further three people with Covid-19 have died in the Republic of Ireland.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths now stands at 1,709, the Department of Health has confirmed.

In terms of new infections, a further 14 cases were confirmed on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 25,334 since the outbreak began..

Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political Correspondent

A DUP MLA has criticised the implementation of the lockdown, claiming families have been left behind.

Paul Frew also told the assembly whilst the measures had saved lives they could have a detrimental effect which won’t be felt for months.

He questioned why visiting other family members in their homes was ever put in step one of the recovery planm saying it was farcical they could meet in a garden centre, shop or pub.

Mr Frew said: “If we do not get the message right then we will be putting lives at risk.

“Whilst it’s saved lives it just hasn’t really worked and worse than that it’s just maybe had a detrimental effect on people’s lives in many ways which we won’t really see until it surfaces many months from now."

He said announcements around retail had caused confusion.

The remarks were criticised as being confusing by Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew.

The TUV leader Jim Allister claimed the public was being “played” by the executive.

"They don’t want the public to know too much because they might become discontented," said Mr Allister.

DUP Junior Minister Gordon Lyons admitted there had been some inconsistencies adding, “It’s very easy to bring them all in, opening up is a little more difficult."

MLAs passed the new regulations without a recorded vote.

The education minister says he will be making a bid for additional funding for the extension of free school meals over the summer.

The government in England announced it will provide a voucher programme for the summer months, following a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford.

Scotland and Wales have also committed to continue the scheme., external

Last month, Peter Weir said his department could not afford to fund payments over summer.

But in a tweet, Mr Weir said he backed First Minister Arlene Foster's proposal.

The GAA has announced the 2020 Cúl Camps will go ahead this year from July 20.

It confirmed today that children will be welcomed back to club venues around the country after recent developments with the government and GAA roadmaps, and extensive planning relating to health and safety.

Camps schedules may be reduced in certain counties and capacity at certain camp locations and venues may be reduced to allow for all health and safety measures.

Since 2006, 1,389,539 children have participated in the Cúl Camps programme including more than 156,000 children and nearly 6,000 coaches in 2019.

GAA President John Horan said he was delighted to confirm the details of the 2020 camps after "a very challenging year for everyone."

“We were determined to run the camps this year and while they have to be organised differently, I hope the essence of what they represent will still shine through," he said.

A list of all club venues, external for children taking part will be confirmed on Monday 22 June.

A dad whose son has autism tells Evening Extra parents with children who have special needs feel abandoned.

Seamus’ son is 12, he has severe autism, ADHD and does not communicate verbally.

"His life has changed completely in lockdown, this is a child whose life depended solely on routine”, Seamus says.

Overnight, the routine “disappeared”, he says.

Image source, Thinkstock

He does not understand why he cannot go to school, he gets upset and his behaviour escalates, his dad says.

Seamus says with no school, and no respite care since the outbreak of the pandemic, there is a constant pressure on the family

“Across the system it has been very prevalent, there is nothing really being said about kids who attend special schools, there doesn’t seem to be anything being put in place,” he says.

“We are not asking for massive things here, sometimes you just do need a break”.

It’s now eight weeks since most of NI’s 39 special schools closed their doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Then, BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra heard how many parents of children with special needs were struggling during the early phase of lockdown.

Now, mum-of-three Zoe tells the programme the situation has not improved.

He son Jay, nine, and daughter Lucy, seven, both have Down's syndrome. Lucy attends mainstream school along with her younger brother Archie, who is five.

It has been a distressing and very difficult time, she says.

“It has been very intense,” she says.

She says she feels tired and unsupported.

Image source, PA Media

Jay’s anxiety “at the minute is just heightened” she says.

She says although Jay is not an aggressive child, he is starting to become “quite frustrated.”

It has an impact on her other children.

She wants Education Minister Peter Weir to allow schools to have more of a say in when children can return.

Decisions should be based on the needs of each individual child, she says.

“My child might be okay to go back, but nobody has asked,” she says.

Image source, PA Media

Doctors have called for the recommendations of a report into the impact of Covid-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic people to be implemented immediately.

The British Medical Association said it was "critical" to carry out risk assessments of vulnerable groups and protect them at work.

Racism could contribute to increased risks , externalfor BAME groups, the report said.

Commissioned by Public Health England, it has seven recommendations.

Fire cadets in Newry, County Down, have made a video to remind people of the importance of testing smoke alarms.

They say that this is particularly important at the moment, due to the increased amount of time spent at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rhys McClenaghan says he "feels like a kid" as he resumes training at the National Gymnastics Centre in Dublin.

The 20-year-old Commonwealth Games champion trained at his Newtownards home for three months because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

"It's great to be back, it really is and I'm excited to get back into the way of things," said McClenaghan.

"This is a gymnastics specific facility and it caters for all my needs to prepare for my next competition."

Read more here

The Public Health Agency (PHA) has used Twitter to remind people that testing for coronavirus is available to everyone over the age of five.

It also shared its guidance on treating and tackling coronavirus:

• Everyone must help stop coronavirus spreading;
• Only go outside for permitted shopping, health reasons, work or exercise. If you go out, stay 2m (6ft) away from other people at all times;
• Groups of up to six people who do not share a household can meet outdoors, maintaining social distancing;
• Avoid touching your face and wash your hands as soon as you get home;
• You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.

Image source, PA Media

The number of workers on UK payrolls dived more than 600,000 between March and May, official figures suggest.

Meanwhile, the number of people claiming work-related benefits - which includes the unemployed - was up 126% to 2.8 million.

The early estimates reflect the impact of around six weeks of lockdown in which large parts of the UK were shut.

But economists say the full effect on employment will not be felt until wage support schemes end in October.

"The slowdown in the economy is now visibly hitting the labour market, especially in terms of hours worked," said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS)."

The purple line in the graph below indicates the daily deaths from coronavirus dating from early March.

You can see the spike in mid April and, in early June, you can see that there were days when no new deaths were recorded and how the figures have dropped dramatically.

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political reporter

First Minister Arlene Foster says she will propose to the executive that the free school meals scheme in NI be extended over the summer, if “the necessary finances can be secured”.

Speaking in the assembly, Mrs Foster said she was very sympathetic to the calls for the payments to continue, as she knew how important they had been to help families during the Covid-19 crisis so far.

Image source, PA Media

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Education Minister Peter Weir also understand how important the scheme has been.

Mr Weir had previously said it would cost his department too much money to continue the payments over the summer months.

The two new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Northern Ireland in the past 24 hours were in the Ards and North Down and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council areas.

The one further coronavirus-linked death was in Antrim and Newtownabbey.

The figures also show 41 people with Covid-19 are in hospital in Northern Ireland and there are four patients with suspected/confirmed coronavirus in intensive care.

Forty ICU beds are currently available.

There has been one new coronavirus-related death recorded in the Department of Health's daily update.

The figures, which mostly record fatalities in a hospital setting, show there have been a total of 542 deaths during the pandemic.

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 now stands at 4,854, according to the department's figures - an increase of two from the previous day.

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political reporter

Northern Ireland is now the only part of the UK that has not extended the free school meals scheme over the summer.

The government in England has just announced it will provide a voucher programme for the summer months, following a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford.

Scotland and Wales have also committed to continue the scheme.

Image source, Reuters

But last month, Stormont’s Education Minister Peter Weir said it would cost too much to continue the payments in Northern Ireland over the summer.

The families of almost 97,000 children have been receiving payments of £27 every fortnight per child, since schools were closed.

There are growing calls from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, Ulster Unionists and the Greens for the executive to extend the payments.