Image source, PA Media

NI golfer Graeme McDowell has pulled out of this week's Travelers Championship in the USA because his caddie Ken Comboy tested positive for coronavirus.

McDowell, 40, said he was withdrawing for the protection of others players and his own physical and mental wellbeing.

The PGA Tour event starts on Thursday in Cromwell, Connecticut.

McDowell had tested negative earlier this week, but his long-time bagman returned a positive test on Tuesday.

"I'm going to take a test on Wednesday morning and then jump on a private plane," the former US Open winner told Golfweek, external.

Read more here

Thai scientists are collecting bats to find clues about the origins of viruses, including Covid-19.

We heard earlier that adults are spending an average of more than four hours online each day.

The pandemic has limited our social options and we're using various apps to keep in touch, plus many of us are working from home.

James Stinson, from OFCOM NI, said older people were among those who had turned to technology in large numbers.

Even the Queen joined a group of carers for her first ever official video conference call earlier this month.

Image source, The Royal Family

Mickey Kivelehan, 72, from Londonderry, said he had used Zoom and Facebook and learned to do online banking since lockdown.

The former engineer told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that it had proven to be "very simple".

"You just press a button and the world's your oyster.

"We have friends we speak to in Australia and America, you just press a button and boom."

But 71-year-old Amber Sloan,from Portadown, County Armagh, said she finds it "rather strange" that people spend four hours online.

She describes herself as a "technology dinosaur".

"I don't spend much time [online] at all, I have a tablet that I use once a week," she said.

"My son set us up with some app where the whole family can get on board to do a quiz because we all live away from each other.

"He sorts it out, I just press a button when I'm told to."

The Public Health Agency (PHA) says work is under way to establish whether any health staff who used face masks that were not fitted correctly contracted Covid-19

Rodney Morton, the PHA's Director of Nursing, told BBC Good Morning Ulster that this is a "work in progress at this stage" and "we anticipate receiving those results over the course of the next week".

The PHA has launched a "serious incident review", after it emerged that that masks provided to healthcare staff had not been properly tested.

"Some of the trusts have identified staff who have not been fitted correctly and we know some of those staff have received positive diagnosis of coronavirus," Mr Morton.

However, he stressed that this "does not necessarily mean causality" and that the "risk is low".

"We are taking this very seriously and why a serious incident review will be conducted," he added.

Mr Morton said the independent contractor is still working within the health sector but "has actively been working with us to identify the critical issues".

However, Mr Morton said "that additional measures have been put in place to ensure every single fit testing certificate has been reviewed across all Health and Social Care Trusts".

The Public Health Agency says it will carry out a "serious incident review" after it emerged that some masks protecting healthcare staff against coronavirus were not properly tested.

It is understood that correct fitting requirements were not followed by an independent contractor.

Rodney Morton, who is the PHA's Director of Nursing, tells Good Morning Ulster that he understands this has caused much anxiety among staff.

Mr Morton tells the programme that it is "essential" that respiratory masks are fitted correctly.

"The UK standard is you have to pass 100% in the fit test, which has seven elements," he explains.

Image source, PA Media

"The contractor, who was involved in fit testing, used a weighted approach, which essentially gave an average score as opposed to a 100% pass rate, so that fell below the UK requirement," Mr Morton said.

"So staff had received a pass rate when they had not passed the fit test score."

America's top infectious disease expert has told lawmakers that the US is seeing a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus infections in some states.

A panel of health officials, including Dr Anthony Fauci, said the next few days will be crucial to stem the new outbreaks.

Image source, Reuters

Cases are climbing rapidly across a number of US states.

The four top experts also testified they were never told by President Donald Trump to "slow down" testing.

The Department of Health here says it is currently reviewing restrictions that mean mums-to-be must attend antenatal scans on their own.

It says restrictions were brought in to “limit the spread of the virus and maintain safety for staff, pregnant women and their babies”.

But that means couples cannot attend scans together.

Roisin Fee and her husband Chris are expecting their first child in October:

Image source, Thinkstock

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle Roisin says attending the baby’s 12 and 20 week scan alone had “been really difficult”.

“It is just not how you imagine it,” she says.

“Of course I wanted the father of the child to be there. This child is 50% his, he is the other parent.”

In a statement the department says it understands “this can be a worrying time for pregnant women and their partners”.

It says “restrictions will not be in place for any longer than is required” and revised guidance “will be published soon”.

People are spending more than a quarter of their waking day online during the pandemic, according to new research by regulator Ofcom.

The research shows the number of adults using video calling services doubled between January and April this year.

One in three adults used those services before the pandemic broke in January, rising to approximately 70% by April, James Stinson from Ofcom NI told Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

Image source, PA Media

He said new research showed that older people were among those spending more time online.

"There has been a significant uptake for older people, because through self isolation or social distancing they have had to adopt these new platforms to keep in touch with friends and relatives," he said.

"It has played a vital role in keeping people connected, these new habits will stay with them. It has accelerated trends that were already there.

"It will impact the way we socialise and keep in touch for years to come."

Mr Stinson said users of the Zoom platform rose to 13 million from less than 700,000 UK adults in the same period.

The secretary for the body that represents bookmakers here tells BBC Radio Foyle jobs could be lost unless betting shops are allowed to reopen soon.

"Like the rest of non-essential retail we thought we would be able to reopen on 12 June," Paul McClean of the NI Turf Guardians' Association says.

"But then we were told bookmakers were not included in that opening date."

He says, bookmakers remain in the dark.

Image source, PA Media

"We have been in touch with the executive, they are aware of our situation," he says.

He's watching the daily Stormont briefings every day, "hoping we are going to get mentioned".

"I can’t understand why we haven’t been given a date like all other industries in the province," he says.

Mr McClean says the longer the shops stay closed the more likely job losses and permanent shop closures become.

Bookmakers have been allowed to reopen in both England and the Republic of Ireland.

Clodagh Rice
BBC News NI business correspondent

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The NI economy is likely to suffer from the impact of the pandemic for longer than other parts of the UK, according to a report.

Think tank Pivotal says this is because the local economy already had problems.

These include low productivity, more people in low-paid jobs in agriculture, retail, health and social care and a skills shortfall.

The report is calling on the executive to address structural weaknesses in the economy.

Read more on this story here.

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Health leaders are calling for an urgent review to determine whether the UK is properly prepared for the "real risk" of a second wave of coronavirus.

In an open letter published in the British Medical Journal, external, ministers were warned that urgent action would be needed to prevent further loss of life.

The presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Nursing, Physicians, and GPs all signed the letter.

It comes after Boris Johnson announced sweeping changes to England's lockdown.

The 2m social-distancing rule will be replaced with a "one-metre plus" rule, meaning people should stay at least 2m apart where possible, but otherwise should remain at least 1m apart while taking steps to reduce the risk of transmission, such as wearing face coverings.

The 2m rule will remain in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Both the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and the chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty stressed Mr Johnson's plan was not "risk-free" at Tuesday's final daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing.

Read more here.

Good morning and welcome to our live page on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Northern Ireland and beyond.

Stay with us for updates throughout the day.