NI Executive to consider reintroducing restrictions to limit virus spread

The North’s Executive is to consider reintroducing some restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus when it meets on Thursday.

These could include lowering the number of people who are allowed to meet indoors or outdoors, or measures focused on specific geographical areas or sectors.

Relaxations which had been postponed, including the reopening of pubs serving drinks only, are expected to be further delayed.

"The time is coming for the Executive to consider fresh and concrete actions to prevent further spread of the virus," the North's health minister, Robin Swann, told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

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“This could include imposing localised restrictions, or introducing more general measures, or a combination of both,” he said.

The number of coronavirus cases in the North has been rising in recent weeks, with 41 new cases identified in the last 24 hours, according to figures released by the Department of Health (DoH) on Tuesday.

One more coronavirus-related death was announced, bringing the total number of fatalities recorded by the department to 559.

The number of cases per head of population, according to the North's Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Ian Young, was 16 per 100,000 in the last seven days, or 24 per 100,000 in the last 14 days.

"Those figures are slightly higher than the rest of the UK or Republic of Ireland, on average, indicating that the epidemic is increasing significantly in Northern Ireland, " he said.

‘Slippery slope’

Mr Swann warned on Tuesday that there was a “clear indication” Covid-19 was “on the advance again” in the North, and there was a “danger of sliding down a very slippery and treacherous slope.”

Northern Ireland was at a “critical juncture” in its response to Covid-19, he said, but people could protect themselves and prevent the further spread of the virus by following guidance around social distancing and hand washing, and observing the regulations around the wearing of face coverings indoors.

The North’s Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Ian Young, provided more information on the spread of the virus. The average number of cases, he said, has progressively risen from three to four per day at the end of June and start of July to an average of over 40.

Increased testing, he said, was not sufficient to explain the rise, as while the number of tests carried out rose by approximately four-fold in that period, the number of cases had risen by around tenfold.

However, he noted that the figures “disguise the fact that there’s very considerable variation” in the number of cases which have been diagnosed in different council areas.

In the worst affected area, Mid and East Antrim, 78 cases were confirmed in the last week, compared to only three in Fermanagh and Omagh.

The North’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Michael McBride, said actions and decisions taken now would decisions made now would “determine our outcomes” in the weeks ahead, and he had a “simple message” to those who are not following the advice. “Wise up.”

The health minister announced the North’s annual flu vaccination programme is to begin early, in September, with the vaccine made more widely available “in an effort to reduce health risks in individuals and reduce the pressure on our health and social care system.”