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Coronavirus: Executive to discuss easing lockdown restrictions

written by cassoscoop March 1, 2021
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EXECUTIVE Ministers are meeting to discuss the North of Ireland’s lockdown exit plan.

But it is not clear whether it will be published later as planned.

It is understood the blueprint will focus on nine areas across social and businesses settings.

Each section will have five steps out of lockdown, guided by data.

That includes the virus infection rate (R number), hospitalisations, vaccine roll out and progress in testing and tracing positive cases.

Derry and Strabane is now in its third lockdown of the pandemic.

It went into a second lockdown on last October 5 after a huge spike in Coronavirus cases across the council area.

The Executive has been regularly reviewing the coronavirus regulations, the next of which is due on Thursday, March 18.

But there is concern the meeting could be overshadowed by a row among ministers about post-Brexit border control posts.

On Friday night Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons ordered officials to stop work on new posts, which are based at ports and are used to check food products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

The decision came amid unionist opposition to the post-Brexit arrangements for the North, which have effectively created a trade border in the Irish Sea.

It is believed the Covid-19 lockdown exit plan includes nine “pathways” to take account of various parts of the Northern Ireland economy.

The first and deputy first ministers had previously said the plan would be published on Monday.

Posting on twitter on Sunday night, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said it would be published “this week”.

The plan is not expected to include indicative dates but will set out criteria that must be met before restrictions on different sectors can be eased.

Last week First Minister Arlene Foster said the executive would also take into consideration “not only local data but emerging evidence from other jurisdictions too”.

The North of Ireland’s lockdown has been extended until Thursday, April 1, with a review due on Thursday, March 18.

Fresh lockdown in Noerth for a further six weeks

Some restrictions around visiting care homes and hospitals will also be eased from Monday, with the new rules allowing at least one face-to-face visit per week by one person.

Daily one-hour visits will be permitted in hospices and women attending maternity services will be able to have someone with them.

Care homes that do not have an outbreak will also be allowed to facilitate a variety of visiting arrangements, including indoors where possible.

In the North of Ireland, children in pre-schools and pupils in primaries one to three will be the first return to class next Monday, 8 March.

They will be followed by pupils in years 12 to 14 on 22 March.

Pupils in other years do not yet know when they will return to school.

Coronavirus: Executive to discuss easing lockdown restrictions was last modified: March 1st, 2021 by cassoscoop

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Agriculture Minister Gordon LyonsCoronavirusCoronavirus: Executive to discuss easing lockdown restrictionsDerry and Strabane CouncilDerry CityIrish Sea BorderNI ProtocolSTORMONT EXECUTIVE
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