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Here are some of the main things that happened today:

• One further death related to Covid-19 has been recorded in Northern Ireland by the Department of Health, bringing the total number of deaths to 537, as of 10:00 BST today.
• The Republic of Ireland has recorded another nine Covid-19 related deaths, its Department of Health has said.
• Anti-racism rallies in Belfast and Londonderry, amid warnings about the dangers to public health.
• NHS trusts were not consulted before the government announced changes to the use of face coverings and visitor policy in English hospitals, the chief executive of NHS Providers has said.
• The chief executive of Hospitality Ulster has called on the executive to fast-track the lifting of restrictions on the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.
• There have been warnings coronavirus may be starting to spread again in the north-west and the south-west of England.

Image source, Pacemaker

NHS trusts were not consulted before the government announced changes to the use of face coverings and visitor policy in English hospitals, the chief executive of NHS Providers has said.

Chris Hopson said trust leaders felt "completely in the dark" about the "significant and complex" changes.

From 15 June, hospital visitors and outpatients must wear face coverings and staff must use surgical masks.

Image source, PA Media

The Department of Health says masks can be provided by the hospital if needed.

A spokeswoman said that, while the public were "strongly urged" to wear a face covering while inside hospitals, no-one would be denied care.

Separately, NHS England has lifted the national suspension on hospital visiting with new guidance for NHS trusts., external

The Republic of Ireland has recorded another nine Covid-19 related deaths, its Department of Health has confirmed.

It has also reported a further 24 cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number to 25,183.

It brings the total death toll related to Covid-19 in Ireland to 1,678.

Scottish football team Ross County have purchased a coronavirus testing machine, and will offer use of it to other Highland sports people.

Each test takes about 20 minutes.

The club return to training next week and the Scottish Premiership hopes to begin the 2020-21 season on 1 August.

Image source, SNS

The testing apparatus has been shipped in from South Korea.

"We don't have to wait for 24, 48, 72 hours," said chairman Roy MacGregor. "Within 20 minutes, the test will give us a positive or a negative."

Read more here.

The Public Health Agency has reminded people of its guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.

• 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

Find out more here, external.

An aerobatics pilot hopes his "hearts in the sky" inspire children to develop a love for aviation at a time when the industry is suffering.

Mark Jefferies, 61, whose family runs Little Gransden airfield in Cambridgeshire, regularly creates vapour trail images.

Image source, Mark Jefferies

He has also drawn "smiley faces" in the sky to mark the NHS Clap for Carers - and the knighthood of Capt Tom Moore.

"If it sparks an interest in flying, I've done my job," he said.

Mr Jefferies said aviation was "in his blood" as his family had run the airfield since the 1920s. The former air cadet gained his pilot's licence at the age of 21.

Until lockdown, his team had taken part in airshows across the world.

Read more here.

Crowds have gathered across the UK as protests over the death of George Floyd get under way.

Protesters have ignored official advice to avoid mass gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Home Secretary Priti Patel telling people it was "for the safety of all of us".

Image source, Reuters

Demonstrators have congregated in London's Parliament Square and gatherings are planned across the UK, including in Belfast and Londonderry.

Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said the protests were "unlawful".

Read more here., external

Amy Stewart
BBC News NI

In March, before coronavirus lockdown measures began, the Irish prime minister paraphrased a quote by Winston Churchill.

"Never will so many ask so much of so few," said Taioseach Leo Varadkar in a televised speech to the nation.

But while front-line and key workers have been praised for carrying the Republic of Ireland and the UK through the crisis, there are also unsung heroes.

Image source, Contributor images

Some 4,000 people in Northern Ireland registered in a campaign launched for those who wanted to do their bit during the Covid-19 pandemic., external Recruitment has now been paused.

Twice as many people as Volunteer Now would hope to sign up in a year contacted the organisation in a three-week-period, with offers to deliver food, visit the elderly and make sure those shielding did not feel isolated.

From food deliveries to phone calls, BBC News NI has spoken to three volunteers about their experiences.

Read more here.

The chief executive of Hospitality Ulster has called on the executive to fast-track the lifting of restrictions on the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.

It comes after the Irish cabinet agreed to ease some lockdown restrictions in the Republic more quickly than previously set out.

Colin Neill said: “The executive needs to assess the situation and come to a swift decision as we’ve now gone through three months of pain.

"Acting now will go some way to help save our summer, but it will take four to five weeks for the supply chain to kick into action again and have everything prepared for trading.

"We need to be set back on some sort of even keel. We’ve no time to lose.”

He added: “As other countries move to a situation whereby many sectors are opening up again, with strong health and safety measures in place, we need to be in a position where we can salvage the remaining weeks of the summer season.

"It may only seem like a short period of time, but it could make all the difference in this really difficult period.”

This post was removed for editorial reasons.

Ards and North Down Borough Council has urged people not to gather in large groups and "share the space", in line with the NI Executive's guidelines.

It comes after large gatherings, which breached social distancing regulations, were held at Ballyholme and Crawfordsburn beaches.

One further death related to Covid-19 has been recorded in Northern Ireland by the Department of Health.

It brings the total number of deaths to 537, as of 10:00 BST today.

Fourteen more people tested positive for the virus.

Freight Transport Association's policy manager has tweeted that he hopes the gradual easing of lockdown will mean that trucks delivering alcohol to pubs will "be on our roads and streets soon".

Checks on roads and transport hubs will be taking place in Belfast and Londonderry ahead of today's planned protests, the PSNI has said.

Writing on the PSNI East Belfast Twitter page, it advised the public that if they are traveling to take part in a protest, they could be stopped and advised to return home and potentially face a fine.

Protests began in the US after a video showed Mr Floyd, 46, being arrested on 25 May in Minneapolis.

Footage showed Mr Floyd gasping that he could not breathe during the arrest by four officers. They have since been charged over the death which sparked days of protest in the US and Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the world.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

There have been warnings coronavirus may be starting to spread again in the north-west and the south-west of England.

Some scientists say the R number is creeping up across the country and may have surpassed one - the point at which the epidemic takes off again - in these regions.

Tameside Council has "strongly" advised schools not to reopen on Monday.

The government insists the number is not above one anywhere in the country.

So, what is going on? How worried should we be? And what does it mean for lifting lockdown?

Read more here

The coronavirus lockdown has seen just a handful of people attend events that might otherwise have hundreds present.

These pictures from PA Ireland show the wedding of Michael McCaw and Lucrecia Landeta Garcia at Belfast City Hall on Friday.

From Monday the number of people able to attend a wedding will rise to 10.

Police have taken to Twitter to warn people wishing to protest about the death of George Floyd this weekend are "putting your health and the health of others at risk".

The PSNI says mass gatherings will "push back the progress we have made" in the fight against Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.

Protests began in the US after a video showed Mr Floyd, 46, being arrested on 25 May in Minneapolis and a white police officer continuing to kneel on his neck even after he pleaded that he could not breathe.

While a number of protests have been cancelled two are expected to go ahead - one in Belfast and one in Londonderry.

Carers NI says Scotland is leading the way in supporting carers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Scottish government are giving out a special coronavirus carers allowance supplement.

In Northern Ireland there are estimated to be more than 200,000 carers.

Claire-Anne Magee from Carers NI says Stormont hasn't made any moves to increase financial support during this time.

Image source, Getty Images

“There’ve always been issues around access to services and financial support and whilst Covid has thrown up a lot of these issues a bit more, we’re really seeing the impact of it now," she told the BBC Radi Ulster's On Your Behalf programme.

"Carers are just continuously trying to keep going and it’s now getting to the point where their mental and physical health is starting to suffer as well.

"We haven’t seen any support from a financial point of view coming from the department of health or the department for communities and Scotland is definitely leading the way.”

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says calls to reopen the economy "but not houses" makes no sense.

His comments come after the Economy Minister Diane Dodds urged the executive to speed up plans to open Northern Ireland up for business and "fast track our journey out of lockdown".

Mr Eastwood said he had repeatedly called for a detailed coronavirus recovery plan as "a plan without timelines makes no sense".

The Pathway to Recovery was announced on 12 May but, unlike plans announced in England and the Republic of Ireland, NI's five-stage blueprint did not include a timetable.

There is a "huge amount of anxiety, not just for the travel industry but also for people who simply do not know if their trip in July or August is going to be going ahead", a travel expert has said.

Speaking on the BBC Radio Ulster's On Your Behalf programme, Simon Calder said that "all you can do is assume that foreign travel is cancelled however, it remains to be seen if there is in fact any justification for that".

Image source, PA Media

But he said many countries are planning to allow travel from the UK despite its high infection rate.

Upon return, the government says travellers must fill out a passenger locator form and quarantine for 14 days.

Mr Calder says the quarantine is “threatening to spoil the summer though because few people will quite rationally want to spend two weeks in quarantine just for one week on the Med”.