Northern Ireland to reveal five-staged easing of Covid-19 restrictions

First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill are planning to announce a five-stage easing of the coronavirus lockdown in Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

The two Ministers and the Northern Executive are putting final touches to the plan that is to be presented in the Northern Assembly on Tuesday, it was confirmed on Monday evening by DUP and Sinn Féin junior Ministers Gordon Lyons and Declan Kearney.

With three more people dying from the virus in Northern Ireland the two Ministers stressed that the relaxing of the lockdown would be “gradual and incremental”.

Mr Lyons said the easing can only “be a gradual and phased normalisation and reliant on the expert scientific advice”.

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“We remain committed to working with all administrations, sharing information and insights on Covid-19,” he said.

He made his comments as the North's Department of Health reported that three more people died in Northern Ireland from coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 438.

The department also reported that 30 more people have tested positive for Covid-19, leaving the total number now confirmed with the disease at 4,149.

While the process out of lockdown will be five-phased, it is expected to differ to the Republic’s road map in that in the North there will be no specific dates set down for when particular easings will take place but that each stage of process will be determined by scientific and public health criteria.

It is expected that the relaxation will begin by allowing gatherings of four to six people in outdoor locations based on continued social distancing. The final phase, possibly in August, will allow the openings of pubs and restaurants.

“There will be no dramatic lifting of restrictions. Each step will be incremental and cautious,” said Mr Lyons.

Mr Kearney said that each stage of relaxing restrictions would happen based on the latest scientific and health advice, the ability of the health service to cope, and “an assessment of the wider societal and economic impacts”.

He said there would be “sufficient latitude and flexibility” governed by the science to “consider whether it is possible to make modifications [to the plan] at any stage as we move along”.

Earlier on Monday Ms Foster told BBC Radio Ulster that Northern Ireland needed a plan specific to the requirements of the North.

“The whole point of devolution is the fact that we can have localised solutions within a UK framework and I think that that is what we are doing across the UK at the moment,” she said.

In an interview with the Irish News Ms O’Neill said “our plan will not be calendar led as it is in the South, where they have assigned certain dates to it”.

She explained, “I would be worried about that approach for this reason : you don’t know how this disease is going to spread. What we intend to do is set out guiding principles as to how we move to each stage and what we intend to do.

“We will set out different phases and they will be reviewed on a three weekly basis in accordance with the best international health advice. Every measure will be gradual, there’s never going to be at any stage a ‘big bang’. It’s going to be incremental.”