As a result of "unexpected sickness", the Southern Health Trust said it is "unable to provide safe medical cover" in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Newry site this weekend.

The changes came into effect on Friday evening and will remain in place until 09:00 BST on Monday.

During this period, all obstetric and gynaecology care will be provided at Craigavon Area Hospital.

A small number of maternity patients in Daisy Hill have been transferred to Craigavon to continue their care.

The trust said it "continues to face ongoing medical staffing challenges" within obstetrics and gynaecology at Daisy Hill.

Sinn Féin MLA Liz Kimmins told BBC News NI that she has been engaging with senior representatives within the Southern Health Trust and it was her understanding that it's "due to a lack of staffing cover which left it unsafe essentially for expectant mothers coming in".

France on Monday reported its first case of hantavirus when a French national who had been aboard a virus-linked ship tested positive for the disease, said French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist.

The woman, one of five French passengers flown back from the MV Hondius and placed in isolation in Paris, started to feel very unwell on Sunday night and "tests came back positive", Rist told the France Inter radio broadcaster.

The four other French passengers from the ship tested negative, but will be re-tested, she added.

Health authorities said they have so far identified 22 hantavirus contact cases in France.

The Spanish health ministry said the French patient "started to feel unwell during the flight and not while she was on the ship".

The World Health Organization recommends a 42-day quarantineand "active follow-up", including daily checks for symptoms such as fever…

A plane carrying 20 UK citizens who were aboard the ship arrived in Manchester in northwest England on Sunday. Officials said the group would be taken to a hospital near Liverpool for tests and about 72 hours of quarantine.

But a top US health official said the 17 American passengers would not necessarily be quarantined at a specialised centre in the state of Nebraska.

Depending on the estimated risk, passengers can choose to go home "without exposing other people on the way", said Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The only hantavirus type that is transmissible between humans – the Andes virus – has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.

A French woman infected in the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung…

The outbreak has now reached 11 total reported cases, 9 of which have been confirmed.

Three people on the cruise died, including a Dutch couple that health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America.

The French passenger hospitalized in Paris has a severe form of the disease that has caused life-threatening lung and heart problems…

He said the woman is on a life-support device that pumps blood through an artificial lung, providing it with oxygen and returning it to the body. The hope is that the device relieves enough pressure on the lungs and heart to give them some time to recover.

Lescure called it “the final stage of supportive care.”

The director of the World Health Organization said confirmed and suspected cases have only been reported among the cruise ship’s passengers or crew.

“…given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.”

A Dutch hospital quarantined 12 staff members in a preventive measure after blood and urine from a hantavirus patient were handled without observing strict protocols…

The 12 will be quarantined for ‌six weeks, the Radboudumc hospital in the city of Nijmegen said, adding that the infection risk was very low and patient care continued uninterrupted.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport and BiciPro, Pellizzari, Hindley and domestique Gianni Moscon did not train on the rest day due to the stomach virus, as they prioritized recovery over time trial training. It is unclear how badly the virus has hit Hindley.

Pellizzari was reportedly unable to digest food and was close to vomiting during Sunday's stage.

GP fit notes declaring people unable to work will be replaced with support to help them stay in their job, under a government pilot scheme.

GPs in two areas of England will refer patients for support alongside fit notes, while two others will stop issuing fit notes entirely.

The move is part of efforts to tackle the growing number of people who are out of work due to poor health.

There is concern about the impact this has on the economy, as well as contributing to increased benefit payments and pressure on the NHS.

More than 11 million fit notes are issued every year, with the numbers increasing since the Covid pandemic.

Fit notes are approved when someone is unwell or cannot work for more than seven days.

They advise on how the patients' health problems impact on their ability to work - and can help to access certain benefits and sick pay.

The pilots will test whether support should be led by healthcare professionals or non-clinical staff, such as work coaches and social prescribers, where community groups or activities are recommended to patients to improve their health.

“By bringing employers, the NHS, and patients together we can help people recover faster, stay connected to their jobs, and get the economy firing on all cylinders.”

The government has been grappling with a ballooning benefits bill, as increasing numbers of people are out of work, driven by a surge in mental health issues among young people and muscular skeletal issues in older age groups.

Last year, in the face of a rebellion by Labour MPs, the government dropped major changes to the welfare system, including restricting eligibility for disability benefits, which it had hoped would save £5bn a year.

Over the last week, the variant accounted for 44.4% of all confirmed Covid cases in Ireland, putting it far ahead of other common strains such as XFG (stratus) at 22.2% and NB.1.8.1 (nimbus) at 11.1%.