First Minister Arlene Foster has confirmed that the closure of schools in Northern Ireland will be extended until at least March.
At Thursday s executive meeting, Stormont ministers backed a proposal from Education Minister Peter Weir that the current arrangements, which only allow vulnerable children and those of key workers to attend class, will continue until Friday March 5.
That will see many pupils return on Monday March 8.
However, not all pupils may be able to get back into classroom setting on that date and Mr Weir has raised the potential of a phased return, with children in key exam years returning first.
In total over 769,000 people have been tested and 102,410 found positive.
Hospital bed occupancy is at 92%. There are 768 people in hospital with Covid and 67 are in intensive care.
There are 126 care homes dealing with an outbreak.
The latest figures come as a proposal to extend school closures is being debated by the Executive.
Meanwhile, more than 5,000 Covid vaccination appointments have been booked online since people aged between 65 and 69 were included in the roll out programme.
The Department of Health confirmed the figure on Thursday after launching the service the previous evening.
It has also emerged that an inability to roll over funds into the coming financial year has forced our health service to hand back £90m in the midst of the pandemic.
The Dublin government does not have the power to swoop into the North and unilaterally implement a health strategy. If we want a co-ordinated response, it will require buy in from the Assembly and that will require negotiation and compromise – concepts that appear to be anathema to the politicians in power.
Writing in The Irish Times yesterday, Mary Lou McDonald called on the government here to initiate planning for a united Ireland – because, what better way to convince the DUP to come to the table during this precarious time than raise the spectre of a border poll and a united Ireland?
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In total over 766,000 people have been tested and nearly 102,000 found positive.
Hospital bed occupancy is at 95pc. There are 775 people in hospital with Covid and 68 are in intensive care.
There are 126 care homes dealing with an outbreak.
The latest figures come as First Minister Arlene Foster backed the approach of the South Eastern Trust after an email emerged offering family and friends of staff the chance to get the vaccine. The trust said it was ensuring supplies were not wasted.
Sinn Fein has called for Education Minister Peter Weir to provide clarity on if school closures will be extended in Northern Ireland.