Marie-Louise Connolly
BBC News NI Health Correspondent

These latest figures cover the time during lockdown when the majority of health and social care services were placed, understandably, on hold.

Recall how hospitals, within a matter of weeks, were transformed to cater for Covid patients.

Some changes actually took place over a weekend; it was mammoth for the health service.

No doubt that action saved hundreds of lives.

Image source, PA Media

Dealing with the pandemic had to become a priority, but now we are feeling and seeing the impact.

Now a total of 311,000 men and women are waiting for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment.

The last time we had figures was back in March, then it was 307,000, so they're up over 4,000.

Some 43.9% are waiting more than a year and, of course, the ministerial target states that no patient should have to wait more than 52 weeks.

We reported earlier about the extent of hospital waiting lists here.

There are 311,000 people in Northern Ireland waiting for a first appointment with a consultant, new statistics show.

Health Minister Robin Swann says they are a "stark illustration of the impact of Covid-19 on our health service".

Mr Swann said the focus on Covid-19 had led to a "serious impact on waiting lists".

“A necessary focus on dealing with the virus created a virtual lockdown of normal health and social care services," he said.

"This has had an inevitable and serious impact on waiting lists that were already far beyond being unacceptable."

Image source, PA Media

Mr Swann said "a lot of hard work is ongoing on the rebuilding of services".

He added that this would "take time and will be entirely dependent on the path Covid will take".

"It is inevitable that there will be further hospital-based outbreaks and clusters in the months ahead," he said.

“Infection control measures are going to be with for us for some time and inevitably, despite our rebuilding efforts, this will have an adverse impact on waiting times for procedures."

Complacency over the flu jab risks overwhelming the NHS, experts warn, as data reveals the scale of the challenge in expanding the vaccination programme.

Last month, the government announced plans to double the amount of people who receive the influenza jab.

But BBC analysis has found the take-up rate among those people in vulnerable groups eligible for a free jab has declined in recent years.

Academics say more needs to be done to explain the severity of the flu.

Image source, David Cheskin/PA Wire.

The government wants to increase the number of people vaccinated from 15 million to 30 million amid fears coronavirus cases will rise again in the autumn.

The UK government has an ambition to vaccinate 55% of people in vulnerable groups, which includes people with multiple sclerosis (MS), diabetes or chronic asthma.The World Health Organisation, external(WHO) has previously said countries should vaccinate 75% of people in "vulnerable" categories.

Read more here.

Image source, Science Photo Library

A leading immunologist is urging everyone to get the flu vaccine this autumn, not just those who normally get it for free.

Danny Altmann is a professor of immunology at Imperial College London.

He told The Nolan Show "the burden of a bad flu season on top of the 'war zone' of Covid-19" would be immense.

The current groups eligible for a free flu vaccination are people aged 65 and over, pregnant women, those aged under 65 years of age in clinical "at risk" groups, all children aged two to four, primary school pupils and front-line health and social care workers.

Last month, Health Minister Robin Swann announced plans to extend the programme to include

• Household contacts of those who received shielding letters during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Staff in independent care homes
• Year Eight pupils
• There are also plans to try to vaccinate those in the 50-64 age group

The Department of Health also told The Nolan Show that everyone should try to get the vaccine as a mix of flu and Covid-19 will likely lead to "serious health conditions".

Mr Altmann agreed with that saying: "It's really important, really simple and really obvious."

"It can save you pain and suffering, and can also save the health service pain and suffering."

Offender management programmes and face-to-face class based learning will recommence in Northern Ireland prisons as part of an easing of coronavirus restrictions.

The announcement by Justice Minister Naomi Long follows the reintroduction of prison visitors and the phased return of pre-release testing.

Speaking about the announcement, Ms Long said: "The decision to reintroduce offender management and to plan for the return of face-to-face learning is welcome but also vital as we move towards recovery during this pandemic.

"It demonstrates a measured proactive approach by the Prison Service and its partners in education."

John Campbell
BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor

NI's Department for the Economy has said there could be more than 100,000 unemployment claimants by the end of 2020.

Unemployment figures could creep up further once the government furlough scheme ends in October.

One of the reasons is that will have the normal outflow of people leaving education - those people will be expecting to go into their first jobs, but they are clearly going to find that a lot more difficult this year.

By way of context, anything above 106,000 people claiming unemployment benefits, hasn't been witnessesd since the 1980s.

There is a reasonable chance we are heading back to unemployment numbers not seen since the 1980s.

Image source, PA Media

We know that in some of the big employment sectors, retail for example, that was already a sector that was in severe difficulties and that has been exacerbated and we are continuing to see jobs just draining out of traditional high street retail at the moment.

That is one area where there is deep concern and retail is the single biggest employment sector in Northern Ireland.

The pain is not spread evenly in this process.

An electrical apprentice said the "future had looked so bright" as he worked through the second year of a three year apprenticeship.

Josh Hamilton told Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme it all went downhill when the pandemic hit.

"The work just dried up, there wasn't enough to keep us going throughout the coming months," he said.

Josh was laid off from his apprenticeship role, but has since managed to find further work.

Professor Terri Scott from the Northern Regional College said colleges were doing their best to help.

"The young people that are affected, the colleges are putting in place arrangements where practical to enable those individuals to progress with the college based elements of their training," she said.

"That's an important part of it, so you earn while you learn and the college based elements will be able to continue."

Louise Cullen
BBC News NI

There are 311,000 people in NI on a waiting list for a first appointment with a consultant, figures show.

The latest figures from the Department of Health span from April to June 2020, when the health system was dealing with the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They show the waiting lists for a first appointment have risen by 4,000 in those three months, to 311,090.

Almost nine out of 10 patients (89.4% - 277, 704) are waiting longer than the Departmental target of nine weeks. That’s up 35,000 since the end of the previous quarter in March.

Image source, PA Media

Almost 137,000 people have been waiting more than a year - an increase of more than 30,000 compared to the same time last year.

Waiting times for inpatient and day case admission are up by more than 3,500 to just over 97,000.

For diagnostic services and medical tests, 150,000 patients are now waiting for a first appointment - up more than 18,000 since the end of March. Three-quarters of them are waiting longer than nine weeks.

For urgent diagnostic tests, 92.2% (45,613) were reported on within the two-day target. But there were just over half the number of urgent tests carried out in this quarter, compared to the previous one – 235,019 between April and June 2020, compared to 408,012 between January and March 2020.

Earlier this morning the Economy Minister Diane Dodds said another lockdown would be devastating for Northern Ireland.

It comes after the top civil servant in the Department for the Economy warned 100,000 people could be unemployed by the end of this year.

Ulster University economist Gareth Hetherington told Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that is a "conservative estimate" and the situation in Northern Ireland is "stark".

He said the talk of a rebound in the retail sector could lead to the risk of a "false sense of security".

Image source, Pacemaker

Mr Hetherington pointed out that a lot of the recovery has been supported by significant government initiatives like the furlough scheme, and that "isn't a sound basis on which to make a determination of the strength of economic recovery moving forward".

He also said another Northern Ireland-wide lockdown would be "catastrophic" and that could be avoided by using the 'test, track and trace' system to implement localised restrictions instead.

Image source, PA Media

A Londonderry pub owner has said they have been "left between a rock and a hard place" after the Northern Ireland Executive announced further delays to their reopening.

Theatres and indoor pubs that do not serve food have been told they cannot reopen next week.

They had initially been given a date of 10 August to reopen, but this was pushed back to 1 September at the earliest several weeks ago.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle, Terry Cassidy, who owns the Glen Bar in Derry, says he is unsure many pubs will be able to survive much longer without financial support from the government.

"We have no date to reopen, we have staff furloughed, we have no financial package. How can we survive?"

The coach industry "will not survive" the coronavirus pandemic without immediate assistance, according to Karen Magill from the trade body Bus and Coach NI.

She sits on a working group set up to advise Economy Minister Diane Dodds on the issues in the sector but says a draft recovery plan may come too late.

"Time is actually running out to save the industry," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"We were the first industry to close down at the end of February.

"We haven't had any business or work since then and we've no clear path on when we're going to reopen again.

"So the industry is very much in the worst position it's ever been in in the 20 years I've been here."

Several lessons have been learned since coronavirus was first identified in Northern Ireland six months ago, according to a molecular virology expert from Queen's University Belfast.

"One of the big lessons we've learned is that modern connectivity is fantastic for economics and interactions and exchanges, but is an ideal breeding ground for viruses like this," Professor Ultan Power told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

He also said the fact some people could carry the virus without any symptoms made it difficult to combat.

"It's a virtual nightmare from a public health point of view then to try and control the transmission of the virus and that took some time while to understand that that was happening at the level at which it was happening."

Prof Power said the coming months would provide further insights and urged people to try and reduce the contacts they have to control the spread of the virus.

"I'm anxiously awaiting to see what happens now that schools are open because it will bring together a lot of people who haven't been together for quite some time," he said.

"It'll be interesting to see does that cause a significant increase in the number of infected people throughout the community."

Pubs and theatres hoping for the green light to reopen next week have been told the move will not go ahead.

An indicative date of 1 September had been set but an increase in cases of coronavirus means the Northern Ireland Executive has put that on hold.

Image source, PA Media

Colin Neill, from Hospitality Ulster, said the development was "catastrophic news" for the industry.

He called on the Executive to announce immediate financial support for publicans or "thousands of jobs will be lost along with a vital part of the hospitality sector here."

Kieran Griffiths, of Londonderry's Playhouse Theatre said the pandemic had been "an awfully sad time" for NI's arts sector.

Read the full story here.

The economy minister has said another lockdown "would be devastating" for the economy in Northern Ireland.

Yesterday we heard the starkest warning yet from Stormont of the level of the economic crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Department for the Economy's top civil servant Mike Brennan warned the full impact of the crisis has not yet begun.

He said almost 330,000 workers in Northern Ireland are currently receiving some sort of income support from London and once those schemes come to an end, we could see unemployment hit 100,000 by the end of the year.

Image source, PA Media

But Diane Dodds told Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme the current situation is "not all doom and gloom", saying some sectors have reopened successfully and that can be continued if the public sticks to the health guidelines.

"We need to be careful of each other and be absolutely sure the basics are right, and then we will be able to keep opening up the economy", she said.

Mrs Dodds added that recovery in sectors such as tourism, hospitality and aerospace will be longer and those will "need a longer tail of support than others who have been opened throughout and are in recovery" already.

The mother of a 16-year-old County Tyrone girl has said the health system has let her daughter down after an operation on her ankle was postponed twice since January.

Dearbhaile McCrory fractured her ankle six years ago.

Despite having had several operations, she remains on crutches and wears a medical boot.

Her mother said Covid-19 cannot be used as an excuse for postponing operations on people who are living in daily pain.

The Belfast and Western health trusts, who have both treated the teenager, said that "due to the Covid-19 pandemic, normal elective outpatient and inpatient surgical services have been significantly disrupted, which has resulted in delays for all of our patients".

"It is difficult to predict when these services will return to normal," they added.

However, within hours of BBC News NI contacting the Belfast Health Trust for a statement, the family received a telephone call from the trust offering them an appointment for surgery in October.

Read more here.

Almost 900 students at further education (FE) colleges have had their qualifications put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

They have not been able to access work placements vital to their courses.

Stormont's economy committee was told three quarters of higher level apprentices who were put on the coronavirus job retention scheme have not returned to training.

Half of all employers who had previously committed to recruiting new apprenticeships are also now not in a position to do so.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds said £17.2m has been secured for apprenticeships.

Image source, Reuters

EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan has resigned after the Irish government accused him of breaching Covid-19 guidelines.

Mr Hogan attended a golf dinner with more than 80 people in County Galway on 19 August.

He was also criticised for not complying with quarantine rules when he arrived in Ireland from Brussels.

The Irish government has welcomed his resignation.

More on this story here.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the latest coronavirus developments.

Stay with us for updates and stories linked to the pandemic throughout the day.