CHANGES during lockdown to how doctors see patients and children are taught could remain in place as part of the `new normal'.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the lessons will be learned from the use of `telemedicine' among other Covid-19 linked innovations in treatment.
Health minister Robin Swann is "planning for how you re-engage, bringing people in for their normal hospital appointments, all those things that were deferred because of Covid".
"What shape that takes yet, I couldn't paint for you today, but I think that we will see that strategy unfolding over the next number of weeks," she said at yesterday's Stormont briefing.
"There is probably lessons in all of this as well, in the period that we have been through, how we can deliver care in different ways in some areas.
"We also need to take this as a chance to learn, telemedicine, all those things that have been effectively used right now, how can that play more of a role in the future?
"Over the course of the weeks and months ahead you'll have a better picture of what the health service looks like on the other side of this."
On schools, the Sinn Féin deputy leader said education minister Peter Weir "has committed to... working with our teaching unions, working with our stakeholders" to ensure they can open in September with "social distancing in place".
First minister Arlene Foster stressed the executive is committed to a "partnership approach".
"It's always easier to turn something on than to come back out again and there are many different sectors who are working with our ministers at present to try to plan that step-by-step approach coming back into the new normal.
"We will pick up some experiences of the lockdown, working from home... what does that look like in the future, can people have the option of working from home, do they want the option of working from home - some people may not.
"...A lot of pieces have to interlock with each other so that's the sort of work that's going on with all of the departments at present and we have to make sure we do that in a way that's clear and is also safe and make sure people understand.
"...We can take the learning from where we've been and also make sure that we keep everybody safe."
The DUP leader also urged the Republic's government to mirror the "generous" gesture of the British government and keep the Common Travel Area out of quarantine restrictions.
"I do welcome the fact that the Common Travel Area is exempted, I think that that is a generous move by the UK government and is something that I hope the Republic of Ireland government will also implement as well so that we can make sure that people can travel across the British Isles."
