Health Minister Robin Swann announces new restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings
Thirty-five cases of Covid-19 are found at a meat processing factory in County Antrim
A further 51 people have tested positive with coronavirus in NI in the past 24 hours, the Department of Health has said
Thousands of GCSE students have received their exam results
BTec students have been told they will have to wait while their results are re-graded
Thanks for following our live coverage of everything related to the ongoing pandemic today.
There was a late flurry of activity when the executive met to review the coronavirus regulations after 51 new cases were reported.
Hopefully this lovely photograph of Ballycastle, taken by Joe Brogan, will help you switch off as we wind up our coverage for the day.
Bye for now.
Image source, Joe BroganHere are the key developments in the coronavirus pandemic today:
Health Minister Robin Swann has strongly rejected the suggestion that the new coronavirus measures could be an overreaction, considering the low number of people who are currently in intensive care.
"The reason we have nobody in ICU at this minute in time, is because the last patient we had in ICU passed away," he said.
"They didn’t get up, and recover, and walk out.
"So let's not use these stats, forgetting that there are people and families behind them.
"Are we overreacting? I want to be in the place where we don’t have to go to another family and tell them that they have lost a loved one due to Covid-19."
Image source, JACOB KING/PA WIREChief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride has said the reopening of schools is a "major priority" for him.
Dr McBride said there is "harm being caused to our children at present."
"There is real harm in terms of their mental health and well-being and real harm in terms of their potential future educational attainment and employment opportunities.
"We must get our schools reopened and must get our children back to schools. That will increase the pressure on R [number] potentially so we will have to monitor that carefully."
Dr Ultan Power, a Professor of molecular biology at Queen’s University, said limiting the number of people able to gather in a property could be aimed at stopping house parties.
He said these had been seen to be a "focal point" for transmission in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
"It seems to be in reaction to the data that these are points where people are transmitting the virus," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.
"If we understand those circumstances, we can be aware of the kind of circumstances we all should be avoiding to avoid infection."
Image source, Professor Ultan PowerEarlier, Minister Robin Swann announced the number of people able to gather at a property would be reduced from 10 to six, from two households.
"The vast majority of people being infected at the moment are young people, most of which don’t have significant or very serious symptoms," said Dr Power.
"That creates a dilemma in itself because some of them will have such minor symptoms that they will think that they are not actually sick, and therefore don’t pose a significant risk to other people.
"One of the messages that needs to go out very strongly is that if people have the symptoms, and/or test positive for the virus, that they do need to self-isolate."
The PSNI will focus its enforcement action in so-called "hotspot areas" to curb the spread of coronavirus, Robin Swann has said.
He announced that while the PSNI has been using enforcement as a last resort, certain council areas that have been experiencing a rise in cases need more attention.
Image source, Pacemaker"I believe it is particularly important in those districts which have seen sharp spikes in Covid-19 prevalence," he told a news conference at Stormont.
"People want to do the right thing but, sometimes, we all need to be reminded about that."
He cited the Mid and East Antrim Council area, which has seen cases rise, in part due to at least 35 cases in a meat plant in Cullybackey.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said there needed to be "right-touch, not light-touch" enforcement.
Read more here
Travellers returning to the UK from Croatia will now have to self-isolate.
However, UK tourists will no longer need to quarantine after holidaying in Portugal.
The changes apply to anyone arriving after 04:00 BST on Saturday.
The latest Covid-19 reproduction number (R) in Northern Ireland is estimated to be between 1.0 and 1.6.
The Department of Health said this means R is likely to be about 1.3 at present.
This is slightly down from last week when the department indicated the reproduction number to be between 1.2 and 2.0.
R represents the number of individuals who, on average, will be infected by a single person with coronavirus.
It does not have a fixed value but varies with time, and is likely to be different every day.
The Department of Health publishes the R value on a weekly basis.
Whenever R is above 1, the epidemic is increasing.
Officials advise that R number should not be viewed in isolation and must be considered alongside other indicators.
In a statement this afternoon, the department said at this stage the number of positive tests per day is likely to be a more important parameter.
The seven day rolling average for new cases has increased and is now at over 40 per day, it said.
"Another widespread application of restrictions in Northern Ireland is not inevitable," the chief medical officer has told a news conference.
"The virus does not have a plan, but the virus will survive and spread because of the things we do and don't do," Dr Michael McBride said.
"I want to avoid it because I know the impact it will have on our society, on our economy and on the health and wellbeing of all of us."
Image source, NI ExecutiveDr McBride said that NI can avoid a further imposing of restrictions "by looking out for and looking after each other".
"The pandemic is not over, but it will be some day and we will get through it together."
Health Minister Robin Swann has responded to "malicious" comments which have allegedly been made against him on social media.
A man in his 40s has been arrested and is being questioned by the police.
Image source, PA Wire/ David Young"I would rather people direct that frustration and anger at me as minister, than at the health service workers or at those front-line workers," said Mr Swann.
"If a level of frustration is targeted at me rather than them, I will accept that."
He added that he felt the threats were serious enough that it was "necessary to inform the appropriate authorities".
The Chief Medical Officer has said the seven-day rolling average is now at "40 per day" which is a ten-fold increase from the end of June.
Dr McBride has also warned the R number is likely to be at around 1.3 at present.
"That means the number of new cases, number of hospital admissions and potentially the number of deaths will increase."
At this afternoon's briefing, Minister Swann also said the PSNI will be targeting enforcement action against areas that have seen spikes in Covid-19 cases.
He said in most instances "enforcement is not needed" and "normally should be the last resort".
"A small minority of people are flouting the regulations and putting themselves and others at risk," he said.
"The PSNI has assured me that it is taking and will continue to take enforcement action where necessary.
"I can confirm that focused PSNI enforcement action will be focused at these hotspot areas, in liaison with public health authorities and as part of a coordinated approach."
Speaking at the news conference, Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said it is important that a "clear consistent message goes out to every citizen in Northern Ireland".
"This pandemic is not over, this pandemic is far from over and that is the central fact that must continue to guide all of our actions and behaviours and adherence to the guidance.
"That is why we can't return to the normality that we all took for granted at the beginning of this year, because we owe it to each other and we owe it particularly to the most vulnerable members of our community.
"That is why these ongoing restrictions must sadly and unfortunately must remain a part of our ordinary lives for the greater good."
Image source, PA MediaThe cluster of Covid-19 cases at a meat processing plant in Cullybackey numbers 35, the Health Minister Robin Swann has revealed.
Cranswick Country Foods is to close for a deep-clean.
Read more here.
Northern Ireland's health minister has announced new Covid-19 restrictions from next week.
Health Minister Robin Swann has said that the rate of transmission in Northern Ireland - the R number - is "definitely above one".
The figure reflects the number of people that each person with Covid-19 infects, and is used as a measure of the spread of the disease.
Mr Swann told Thursday's briefing R was likely to be around 1.3.
"Many of us will, by now, understand the implications of that," he said.
"But I need to address what I believe to be a growing problem of some people dismissing the figures and becoming increasingly flippant in regards to the impact of this virus."
Click the play button at the top of this page to watch a news conference with Health Minister Robin Swann.
The Irish government has issued a clarification on its lastest Covid-19 rules, saying up to 50 people rather than six can attend theatres, cinemas, museums and art galleries as long as social distancing measures are in place.
Yesterday, (Wednesday) two separate government departments - arts and health - had issued conflicting limits on the numbers of people allowed to attend cultural venues.
The Department of Health had claimed a maximum of six people could attend indoor cultural venues while 15 was the limit for outdoor events.
However, following "consultation" between the ministers for health and arts, the government has now confirmed an "overall limit of 50 people", external inside such venues.
It said museums, cinemas, theatres and art galleries "are deemed to be controlled environments, with appropriate protective measures in place".
If groups are attending, they can be no larger than six people, from no more than three households.
Aside from the listed venues, all other indoor cultural events are limited to six people while outdoor events "are subject to the new limits of 15".
The move was among a number of changes to the Republic of Ireland's Covid-19 policies this week, as it tightened restrictions in response to a significant rise in new cases.
Conor Macauley
BBC News NI Agriculture and Environment Correspondent
A meat processing plant in County Antrim is to close following the discovery of a cluster of Covid-19 cases.
Cranswick, in Cullybackey, which processes pigs, will shut for a deep clean and for the testing of staff.
The company briefed its workers on Thursday afternoon, with the closure taking effect from 18:00 BST on Saturday.
A cluster is defined as two or more cases. A company spokesman declined to confirm how many of its staff were involved in the current outbreak but said staff welfare was the primary concern.
Read more here.
Belfast Chamber chief executive Simon Hamilton says the absence of office workers from the city centre is having a "profound impact" on the economy.
He made his comments during a discussion on Talkback about whether office workers should return to their buildings in Belfast city centre.
There are reports that Economy Minister Diane Dodds wants civil service staff to return to the office to boost footfall in city centre businesses.
"Things are definitely better in the sense that the economy is back open again, that's a good thing, but footfall remains depressed - 50% of our members have reported to us that the footfall has more than halved," Mr Hamilton said.
"That's having an impact on turnover, we are seeing the reality of that impact in terms of job losses, store closures."
Image source, PA MediaPolitical commentator Newton Emerson said the argument for getting civil servants back in offices in Belfast was the "opposite" of the Executive's policy.
"The whole move at Stormont over the past 10 years has been to offload these expensive city-centre office buildings whether they are owned or rented," he said.
"It is still costing about £100m a year in estate costs alone to run these buildings, that's not talking about laying any civil servants off.
"That's about half the total regional business rates raised in Northern Ireland - in theory there's a philosophy there that Stormont should continue, take this opportunity to make that saving, pass that permanently on to businesses."
