Businesses in North have been closed now for three months over Coronavirus
She said this would hels a number of companies which offer close contact services which remain closed.
Mrs Foster added that the support grant for tourism and hospitality businesses is also being extended, and will go beyond 31 March, for as long as restrictions are in place.
Hospitality across the North of Ireland went into lockdown on Boxing Day, December 26.
The sector has still not been given an indicate date as to when it and other close contact services can reopen their doors to the public.
The First Minister said there have been “improvements across all indicators”, in terms of Covid-19.
She outlined that the R rate of the virus has fallen to between 0.75 and 0.95,
Hospital admissions have fallen to 54, from 79 a week ago.
She added there are 14 people with Covid-19 currently in intensive care, with ten people on ventilators.
Care home outbreaks are now down to six with a further 640 concluded Coronavirus outbreaks in care homes.
In the past 24 hours, there had been no further deaths from the deadly virus for the second day in a row although the number of new cases reported for Wednesday had jumped by 44 to 183.
There were a further 19 postive cases in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area in the past 24 hours
Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the vaccine programme is reducing the number of new Covid-19 cases.
A total of 703,334 – nearly half of the population here – have had the first Coronavirus vaccine while just over 104,907 people have received their second dose.
“We continue to see evidence of the impact of the vaccination programme with the reduction of the number of new positive cases in the over-60s and we expect to see similar reduction in the over-50 category as the programme rolls out further,” added Michelle O’Neill.
The deputy first minister said the North of Ireland is in a “good space” but it will only take one case to set us back.
“Unfortunately it’s not just what happens here,” she told the press briefing.
“What’s happening in one part of the world has an impact here also.
“It just takes one case to be here and it obviously has a spiral effect so we have to be very mindful of that.
“Certainly that’s the advice of our medical and scientific team earlier today.”
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