The committee's Deputy Chair, Pam Cameron, also joins the meeting by audio link.

She asks the minister about the letters sent to those who have been identified as vulnerable, and who have been advised to stay at home for 12-14 weeks.

Image source, NI Assembly

Mr Swann says the letters were sent out based on "database and health records".

He says in relation to the timeframe of "shielding" for those who have received letters, "that's where the modelling will start to play out".

"The longer we see it run and see what happens," he adds, then there will be scope to see "if we can take foot off some of the measures" currently in place.

The Health Minister, Robin Swann, says Northern Ireland is benefiting from a UK-wide contract with the County Antrim-based firm Randox to provide Covid-19 testing kits.

He told the Stormont health committee he has held discussions with the company and "we got a small run from them at the very start".

Committee chair Colm Gildernew, speaking via audio call, asked the minister why he is "allowing those kits to be sent out of country to be sent back in at a later moment of time".

Mr Swann replied: "We have been supporting them as to how they utilise equipment here as well.

"The commerciality they have negotiated with is without my scope."

Sinn Féin's Pat Sheehan returns to the subject of testing for the coronavirus, during a meeting of Stormont's health committee today.

He puts it to Health Minister Robin Swann that testing has "not been a priority to date".

Mr Swann disagrees. He says the authorities have been trying to get their testing improved "as hard and as fast as we can".

Image source, PA Images

"We haven't pushed it as hard or as fast as I would like it to have been," the minister says.

In reply to further questioning from Mr Sheehan, the minister says the challenges around testing have been about "the availability of the products and the supply chain".

Sinn Féin's Pat Sheehan, who is standing in as chair of the Stormont health committee, asks Robin Swann how much of the 400,000,000 pieces of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), that the British government has distributed in the last fortnight, has come to Northern Ireland.

Mr Swann replies: "We haven't received any of that".

But he adds: "We are on supply chain, so that is on the way to us".

He says he had a meeting with the Finance Minister, Conor Murphy, yesterday and that "communication has been put in".

Image source, NI Assembly

He adds that the two departments are working together "to make sure we are plugged into that order coming across from China" and are also looking at "what we can produce and manufacture here locally".

Mr Swann continues: "It's on it’s way. It's not that it's being denied to us."

Health Minister Robin Swann tells Stormont's health committee that testing for the virus is a "challenging piece".

"We're doing that now with a number of labs across government estate and, I suppose, universities as well, but we are also tying into the commercial provision that has been sourced," he says.

The minister mentions testing facilities being put in place at MoT testing centres and at SSE Arena in Belfast.

Image source, NI Assembly

The first line of testing is for those who have been admitted to hospital with symptoms, the second line is for people in care homes and the third line is for healthcare workers, he explains.

Mr Swann says 387 tests were carried out on healthcare workers on Monday.

He says there are still issues with getting personal protective equipment (PPE) to the right people at the right time.

The minister explains that there has been a "rapid review" in the guidance on what PPE has to be used in any given circumstance.

The Health Committee meeting is opened by the clerk.

She says that because the chairperson and deputy chairperson are not in the room, the committee must nominate a member to fulfil the role.

Colm Gildernew, the committee chair, joins the meeting by video link and proposes his party colleague Pat Sheehan (Sinn Féin).

The other members agree.

Mr Sheehan then calls a ten minute adjournment so he can be briefed by the clerk..

Image source, NI Assembly

Welcome to Thursday's live coverage of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Committee business has been cut back to a minimum for the time being but this morning we have the weekly briefing for the Health Committee from Health Minister Robin Swann and the Chief Medical Officer, Michael McBride.

The meeting starts at 10:30. Do join us then.

Image source, Getty Images