ireland in the past seven days, a rise of 278 on the previous week. no deaths are recorded for 18 june. 20 june – northern ireland records another day without any covid related deaths. 22 june – around 9,000 students at queen's university belfast and ulster university are to receive an additional payment of £495 from the stormont executive for disruption to their education caused by the covid crisis. this is in addition to £500 to be paid to around 40,000 students in northern ireland. 23 june – figures released by nisra show one death has been linked to an allergic reaction to covid vaccine in northern ireland. the death occurred in the first quarter of the year. 24 june – the department of health says a paper based covid passport scheme could be ready to launch by early july. 27 june – walk in vaccinations become available for all over 18s in northern ireland, with a vaccination centre opening at belfast's sse arena. further walk in centres are planned in the coming days. northern ireland passes two million vaccinations, with 80% of adults having received a first vaccination and around 60% a second. northern ireland records another day without any covid related deaths. 28 june – northern ireland records another day without any covid related deaths. 30 june – northern ireland records the highest number of daily covid cases since february, with 375 new cases. the figures prompt the senior health officials to urge younger people to get vaccinated. the orange order announces that the twelfth of july will be marked by 100 smaller parades rather than the 18 large parades that usually take place to mark the occasion. july 2021 1 july – the executive agrees to allow live music to resume from 5 july. there will be a restriction on the volume for indoor concerts which must be at an ambient level only, with screens placed in front of the musicians, while no volume level will be set for outdoor music. the department of health announces plans to introduce and "emergency interim plan" to allow people to travel abroad ahead of its vaccine certificate scheme, due to begin later in july. 2 july – covidcert, a temporary scheme to allow northern ireland residents to prove they have been vaccinated when travelling abroad, is established and will be in place until 19 july. the department of health says that around 600 companies have expressed interest in its workforce testing programme to provide rapid tests for employees. 3 july – with around 60% of people in northern ireland having received both vaccinations, another day of walk in clinics is held across northern ireland. 4 july – northern ireland records another day without any covid related deaths, but there are 533 new cases of the virus. professor ian young, northern ireland's chief scientific adviser, says that hospital admissions could be reduced by half if 90% of people have been vaccinated by the end of july. 5 july – northern ireland records another 420 covid cases but no further deaths. chief medical officer dr michael mcbride suggests northern ireland is experiencing a fourth covid wave and says there is no reason not to get the vaccine. figures indicate more than 4,500 holidaymakers have applied for short term vaccine passports. 6 july – deputy first minister michelle o'neill has described as reckless prime minister boris johnson's plans to end all covid restrictions for england on 19 july. 7 july – northern ireland records another day without any covid deaths; 570 new cases are recorded over the same period. infrastructure minister nichola mallon has said people should continue to wear masks on public transport, even when no longer legally required to do so. 8 july – the executive confirms that fully vaccinated people arriving into northern ireland from amber list countries will no longer be required to quarantine from 26 july. theatres in northern ireland are given a provisional date to reopen on 26 july, but this must be ratified by the executive on 22 july. 9 july – visiting to hospitals in derry is suspended amid a number of covid cases in the hospitals. first minister paul givan has said that a "very high level of personal responsibility" will be needed from people to enable everybody to live with covid. 10 july – northern ireland holes another weekend walking vaccination clinics. 12 july – northern ireland records another day without any covid related deaths, but there are 528 new cases. the 12th of july parades are held, and pass without incident. several smaller parades are held this year due to covid restrictions. 13 july – the department of health says software developers are working to have northern ireland vaccination certificate system up and running by the following week. 14 july – more walk-in vaccination clinics are announced for northern ireland, and will open in the coming weeks. 15 july – the executive announces that quarantine restrictions from amber list countries will no longer apply to fully vaccinated people from 19 july. more than 1,000 new daily covid cases are reported. health minister robin swann describes the news as "alarming". 16 july – northern ireland records 1,380 new covid cases, but no deaths. 17 july – another weekend of walk in vaccination clinics begins. 18 july – the majority of irish passport holders in northern ireland will not be able to use the eu digital covid certificate, despite the irish government previously suggesting they would be able to do so. 22 july – the executive delays a decision on the reopening of theatres and concert halls for a week. 23 july – the department of health launches northern ireland's vaccine certification app, covidcertni. 24 july – demonstrations are held in belfast, and in dublin in the irish republic, against covid-19 restrictions and the vaccination programme. 25 july – the department of health confirms that more than a million people in northern ireland (roughly 70% of the adult population) have had both covid vaccinations. the belfast and south eastern health trusts have urged off duty staff to come into work amid pressure on hospitals caused by covid admissions. 26 july – the executive agrees to the reopening of theatres and concert venues from 6pm on 27 july. people attending the forthcoming chsq and belsonic music events in belfast will be required to provide proof of vaccination, covid antibodies or a negative test, organisers of the events have announced. northern ireland records another day without any covid related deaths, while 639 new cases are recorded. chief nursing officer charlotte mcardle reports a "significant increased demand" for intensive care beds due to cases of covid-19 during the preceding weekend. 27 july – chief medical officer sir michael mcbride says the health service is operating under "huge pressures" as growing covid admissions lead to the cancellation of more surgery. belfast's lyric theatre becomes the first theatre to reopen, an hour and a half after restrictions on theatres and concert venues are lifted. the first play to be staged following the reopening is a performance of dracula. health minister robin swann says he will look at whether to link the high street voucher scheme to full vaccination, meaning people could not cash the vouchers without being fully vaccinated. former education minister peter weir calls for all children over the age of twelve to be vaccinated, arguing it could cut community transmission and school absences. 28 july – belfast health and social care trust is forced to cancel some cancer surgery due to covid-19 pressures, but is working to reschedule the operations. the women's policy group northern ireland accuses the northern ireland executive of neglecting the needs of women during the pandemic, and urges ministers to work towards providing better help for women, including better childcare facilities and equality in the workplace. 29 july – people attending the féile an phobail in falls park from 6 to 15 august will be required to provide proof of covid status, organisers have said. economy minister gordon lyons confirms northern ireland's high street voucher scheme will begin in september. every adult living in northern ireland will become eligible for a £100 card which they can spend in the high street. the scheme is hoped to help towards retail sector recovery following the pandemic. dr chris hagan, medical director of belfast health trust has cited the cancellation of cancer operations as a direct result of people not being vaccinated. statistics produced by nisra indicate people's welfare has returned to pre-pandemic levels. 30 july – the department of health says that "frantic" efforts are under way to resolve security concerns with northern ireland's covid-19 certificate system. the system has been down since tuesday 27 july amid concerns about data security. 31 july – northern ireland's covid passport system is up and running again, but only available to people travelling abroad on sunday 1 august and monday 2 august. this is in order to help prevent undue pressure on the system. this date marks the final day on which people can receive a first vaccination from one of northern ireland's mass vaccination centres. from 1 august they will only be open for those booking a second vaccination. the change is to allow some of the health staff redeployed to the vaccination centres to return to their regular jobs. august 2021 1 august – northern ireland's covid vaccine passport scheme is extended to anyone wishing to travel on tuesday 3 august. 2 august – dr eddie o'neill, head of northern ireland's vaccine certificate programme, reports the scheme is going well and that 300 fraudulant applications for certificates have been rejected. the royal college of surgeons says that the cancellation of cancer surgery in northern ireland at the end of july due to rising covid cases could have been avoided, and that plans it devised to prevent the situation were not implemented. kidney transplants have been cancelled in belfast due to staff shortages. 3 august – kidney charities in northern ireland have said they are "devastated" after belfast health trust cancelled several transplant operations over the preceding weekend; a shortage of staff due to the rise of covid cases is blamed. the number of people waiting for more than twelve hours at an emergency department increased fivefold during 2020 compared to five years earlier. as the electoral office of northern ireland updates its electoral register, it is confirmed that people on the old register will still be eligible to claim the £100 high street vouchers when the scheme is launched. 4 august – northern ireland's health trusts have been tightening visiting rules as pressure on hospitals grows, it is reported. 5 august – figures from the department of health show that hospital procedures have reduced by 46%, with 59,762 cases across all of the health trusts in 2020–21, compared with 110,605 in 2019–20. eddie lynch, northern ireland's commissioner for older people, urges more care home staff to get vaccinated. 6 august – the number of covid related deaths in northern ireland passes 3,000 after 18 deaths were registered in the week up to 30 july, taking the total to 3,015. they include a person under the age of 15. the first teenagers aged 16 and 17 have received their first covid vaccinations. 7 august – figures have shown covid cases have risen significantly during july, with northern ireland having the highest covid infection rate in the uk. but the present surge is not as bad as the previous one. 9 august – professor ian young, northern ireland's chief scientific adviser, says there has been a "dramatic reduction" in the number of people testing positive for covid being admitted to hospital, showing that vaccination reduces the risk of hospitalisation. of the 1,000 or so covid cases in northern ireland, 22 people are in hospital, down from 60 in december 2020. 11 august – the department of health says that discussions are under way about sharing data between the uk's vaccination programmes after a student who received his first vaccination in england was told he is ineligible for a covid passport because he did not receive both jabs in northern ireland. 12 august – ministers agree to changes to covid rules that will end the requirement for self-isolation of close contacts who have been fully vaccinated, as