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Six people have died with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland while a further 297 people have tested positive for the disease, the region’s Department of Health said on Wednesday.<\/p>\nSix people have died with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland while a further 297 people have tested positive for the disease, the region’s Department of Health said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A total of 434 people are in hospital with the disease, with 53 in intensive care.<\/p>\n
Definitive decisions may be made on Thursday on reopening schools in Northern Ireland, the education minister has said.<\/p>\n
Peter Weir added he would not want to wait more than a week before making a decision.<\/p>\n
The Stormont Executive has already said it will be March 8th at the earliest before schools can open their gates to more pupils.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Weir told BBC Evening Extra: \u201cIf it is not something definitive on Thursday it would need to be something fairly soon after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Current arrangements only allow vulnerable children and those of key workers to attend class, until Friday March 5th.<\/p>\n
Whether or not schools will open fully on Monday March 8th remains in doubt and will depend on the public health situation.<\/p>\n
If the current remote learning arrangements are altered on March 8th, all pupils may not be able to get back into classroom immediately.<\/p>\n
Mr Weir has previously raised the potential of a phased return, with those in key exam years returning first.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, he said: \u201cIt is important that people are given notice but we have also got to bear in mind that there has got to be decisions\u2026looking at where things are in terms of the public health situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a total of 438,708 vaccines have been administered in the region.<\/p>\n
That includes 94 per cent of over 80-year-olds \u2013 67,824 people.<\/p>\n
A significant number of the remaining six per cent will be people who are confined to their homes or in hospital.<\/p>\n
The rollout update included jabs delivered to:<\/p>\n
Health Minister Robin Swann said: \u201cI want to thank everyone involved in our vaccination program at all levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet again, our health service is stepping up to the mark for us all. Thanks to this work, hundreds of thousands of people now have better protection against Covid-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must maintain the good progress we have made \u2013 and that means people continuing to come forward when it\u2019s their turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many others, I\u2019m patiently waiting my turn and when it comes, I won\u2019t have to be asked twice.\u201d<\/p>\n