Stormont ministers agree a phased plan for taking Northern Ireland out of lockdown

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Stormont ministers have agreed a phased plan for taking Northern Ireland out of a lockdown that has lasted since Christmas.

It is understood the plan focuses on nine key areas – retail; hospitality; education and young people; work; culture, heritage and entertainment; sports and leisure; travel and tourism; worship and ceremonies; home and community.

Each of these areas are expected to emerge from lockdown in stages, with ministers also making clear that this will be dictated by the coronavirus data, and not by dates. Keeping the R number under 1 is expected to be critical.

The lack of dates in the Executive’s plan is in contrast to the much more detailed roadmap provided by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for England last week.

The current pattern on Covid-19 remains a positive one in Northern Ireland. On Tuesday The Department of Health revealed that only another 149 new cases of the virus had been detected here over the last 24 hours.

The number of hospital patients with Covid-19 continues to fall while another two people with the virus have died.
Alistair Bushe
Editor

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