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There has been lots of news this Tuesday as Northern Ireland continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are today's key developments:

• Health Minister Robin Swan has announced a further £11.7m in funding to support care homes.
• The Orange Order has appealed to bands to drop any plans they have to march on the Twelfth of July.
• There will be a phased return of dental services in NI from Monday 8 June.
• Two coronavirus-related deaths were announced on Tuesday, bringing the total reported by NI's Department of Health to 526.
• The UK-wide death total is 39,045, after a further 111 deaths were reported on Monday.
• The Republic of Ireland reported one further death on Monday, bringing its total to 1,650.

• Police have urged people to avoid popular beauty spots as the lockdown is eased, after crowds gathered at beaches on Monday

The chief social worker has paid tribute to those working in the adult social care sector.

Speaking at the Stormont briefing where a funding package worth £11.7m was announced, Sean Holland said care home staff do "an amazing job", many of them on minimum wage and without enhanced sick pay.

Mr Holland said the money would build on the "direct financial support already provided to the sector”.

We've heard the police, MLAs and others urging people to stay away from beaches and beauty spots - but according to one of the BBC News NI's political correspondents, that message has not stopped people from heading towards Newcastle and Dundrum.

Many churches were delighted when they heard that, under step one of the NI Executive's lockdown easing plans, drive-in church services and events could be held.

However drive-in services need a restricted service licence from Ofcom so that people in their cars can hear the soundtrack, or what is being said, on their car radios.

It meant only churches and organisations with a pre-existing licence were able to hit the ground running.

Ofcom said they had "received a large number of queries about drive-in services, including drive-in movies and drive-in church services".

Ofcom usually asks for applications to be made 60 days before the planned event but due to Covid the regulator has decided that, for the time being, it will accept applications for events that are planned sooner than 60 days from the application being received, and will aim to give an answer on applications within two weeks of it being received., external

It's important to note that in issuing a licence for a drive-in event, Ofcom is not authorising the event itself, but only the use of the technology - the event must be approved through local authorities.

Following the announcement of a £11.7m care home package, health minister Robin Swann said that "this the start of the reform of our care home sector".

The money will be used to help pay staff when off on sick leave, provide extra support for cleaning costs and to purchase specialist equipment.

Mr Swann said the funding was the start of the reform needed in the care home sector to make sure staff were supported and paid "appropriately".

Latest government figures report that, external 39,369 people with coronavirus have died in the UK, an increase of 324 deaths on Monday's figures.

There were 1,613 new positive cases recorded in the past day.

The acting chief dental officer, Michael Donaldson, has provided more detail after it was announced that dentists in Northern Ireland can reopen from Monday 8 June, for urgent face-to-face care.

He acknowledges that dental practices will be operating with a "reduced range of options", but added that "there is still a lot can be done".

Mr Donaldson said that in phase one of the return "we are still talking about patients with an urgent care need".

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"We are talking about patients who maybe have a dental abscess, who are maybe suffering extreme pain that can't be relieved with painkillers," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra.

"Extractions are possible and over the last 10 weeks around 2,000 patients per week have been seen in general dental practice.

"There has been a very significant service to date and we are just building on that service now next week, to extend the number of patients that will be seen, making sure all practices are offering this type of care."

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre in the Republic of Ireland says that a total of eight more people with Covid-19 have died.

It brings its total to 1,658 Covid-19 related deaths.

Ireland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “Over the past week there have been approximately 500 new cases of COVID-19 notified, 54% of which are aged between 24-55 years old.

"Incidences of these cases are spread across 21 counties in Ireland. While we are doing well, the potential for spread remains present across all regions of the country."

A recently reopened Londonderry recycling centre has been closed again to allow for a review of traffic management arrangements.

It follows a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection of the Glendermott Recycling Centre.

“Whilst the HSE were satisfied with the operation and health and safety arrangements within the recycling centre, they had some concerns in relation to the high numbers of vehicles waiting to get into the facility and interactions with other businesses in the area,” a Derry City and Strabane District Council spokesman said.

All council owned recycling centres closed in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Many reopened with new social distancing measures in place in May as part of lifting restrictions on public life.

There’s been an increase in the number of young people here being referred to social services after an inital drop in the first phase of lockdown.

“Initially when we went into lockdown we saw a significant downturn in referrals,” chief social worker Sean Holland told the daily Stormont briefing.

He said that reflected the fact that many young people were not in contact with people who might normally make a referral, including school staff.

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“The latest position is that referrals are climbing again.

"We have a situation where we've seen increases both in the number of registrations on the child protection register and a small increase in the number of children coming into care,” Mr Holland said.

He said many young people now emerging from lockdown may have “found themselves contained in homes in situations which are neglectful or even abusive.”

Louise Cullen
BBC News NI

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Dentists in Northern Ireland can reopen from Monday 8 June, for urgent face-to-face care only.

The acting chief dental officer has said there will be a three-stage phased move towards providing routine care, but no date has been set for that.

Dental surgeries had to close at the start of lockdown, because much of what they do can involve what are called aerosol-generating procedures (APGs).

Read more on this story here.

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The number of people dying each week linked to coronavirus has dropped to its lowest levels in the UK since March, figures show.

The review of death certificates by national statisticians showed 2,872 cases where the virus was mentioned in the week ending 22 May.

Overall there were 13,800 deaths in that week - 2,500 more than normal at this time of the year.

At the peak of the pandemic, double the number of people were dying than expected.

Overall, there have been 190,000 deaths during the pandemic - nearly 62,000 above what would be expected.

Read more

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NI's chief social worker says the new funding package for care homes here must be the “beginning of a programme of investment” for the care sector

Speaking at today’s Stormont press briefing, Sean Holland said care homes “have always been a priority” in the battle against coronavirus.

“This pandemic has drawn wider attention quite rightly to care homes, and the experience of staff working, the residents who live in them and their families.

“When we come out on the other side of this pandemic we cannot as a society afford to lose that focus,” he said.

Robin Swann says the £11.7m financial package will enable care homes to pay staff 80% of their salary when on sick leave for Covid-19 related reasons.

It will also provide support with cleaning costs and the provision of specialist equipment.

He says it is essential that care homes are provided with as much support as possible.

Up to £2.2m of the funding will be for the provision of new equipment - including thermometers and pulse oximeters - to allow the recording of clinical data.

Image source, Pacemaker

Health Minister Robin Swann says 6,600 residents in care homes have now been tested.

He also announces a £11.7m financial support package for the sector, including funding for sick pay for staff.

Mr Swann says work is ongoing to ensure lessons from the pandemic are learned and implemented in the sector.

Health Minister Robin Swann begins today's NI Executive briefing by saying it is important that "we never lose sight" that the coronavirus is still spreading.

He says people are still seriously ill and people are "passing away".

He notes that his department reported two more deaths today and he passes his condolences on to those families affected.

He says the battle against coronavirus is "finely balanced".

Health Minister Robin Swann has began to speak at the podium at Stormont - watch live by hitting the play button at the top of this page.

The daily Northern Ireland Executive briefing is due to begin in about 15 minutes - Health Minister Robin Swann is expected on the podium today.

You can watch it live by pressing the play button at the top of this page.

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There is no judgement more important right now than gauging the trade-off between reopening the economy and the measures limiting the spread of coronavirus.

Less than a month ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the way in which this would be achieved was through a Covid-19 alert level system, alongside "five tests" on the spread of infection.

BBC Economics editor Faisal Islam considers how the system is faring in this article here.

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political correspondent

A DUP MLA has accused the Department of Finance of withholding emails about a failed PPE order from China.

Paul Frew says the Finance Committee had requested all emails about the order, which fell through, at the end of March but only some of the correspondence was released.

Mr Frew, who is deputy chair of the committee, says emails covering two days, 30 and 31 March, were not provided and has accused the department of denying the committee access to these emails.

He also claims a BBC Freedom of Information Request to access the same emails had also been rejected by the department.

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“Any department that stops information going to a scrutiny committee is unjust and diabolical," Mr Frew says.

Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt, who also sits on the Finance Committee, says he shared Mr Frew’s concern about being denied access to the emails.

In response, Finance Minister Conor Murphy says he was happy to “consider any request for appropriate information” for the committee but also asked Mr Frew if he brought the same “righteous indignation” into his own party meetings when such issues as RHI are discussed.

“I doubt if you do” the minister adds.

The Department of Finance has been approached for comment.