No further Covid-19 restrictions to be imposed in North

No further Covid-19 restrictions are set to be imposed in Northern Ireland at this stage, Paul Givan has said.

The First Minister was speaking following a virtual meeting of the Stormont Executive on Thursday.

He said Ministers agreed that no further restrictions should be introduced at this time.

The Executive will continue to assess the data as more information emerges, Mr Givan added in a tweet after the meeting.

Church services

---

Drumcree 1997: Mo Mowlam rounded on Orangeman over Twelfth march

---

President Hillery was asked for help over princess’s insurance claim after jewel theft

---

Covid-19: Record 20,554 cases as isolation reduced to seven days for those with booster

---

His comments came as it was announced that a further three patients who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 have died in Northern Ireland. Another 4,701 positive cases of the virus have also been notified by the Department of Health. On Thursday morning there were 303 Covid positive patients in hospital, of whom 32 were in intensive care.

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Edwin Poots tweeted that the self-isolation period for confirmed Covid-19 cases will be reduced in Northern Ireland from 10 days to seven in line with England.

Mr Givan also tweeted around that decision, adding that the new rule will be subject to negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven, adding this policy will apply retrospectively and take effect from Friday.

Ministers are to meet again on January 6th.

On Thursday, they heard that the Omicron variant was estimated to be accounting for 90 per cent of cases in the North.

Data

The North’s department of health modelling data seen by the PA news agency, which was presented to Ministers, indicated that while the Delta variant was expected to gradually decline, a “more modest Delta epidemic” could persist in parallel with a larger Omicron outbreak.

It set out that a peak in numbers would occur in early to mid-January/early February, with hospital admissions and occupancy peaking in late January/early February.

The extent of the peak would depend on the severity of illness with Omicron.

Officials were said to be closely monitoring data emerging from Northern Ireland, as well as the experience in England and Scotland.

Ministers were told that if Omicron was associated with illness as severe as Delta, “significant intervention” would be required to keep hospital inpatient numbers at less than 1,000.

But if the severity of Omicron was substantially reduced from that seen with Delta, close to an 80 per cent reduction, current measures could be sufficient.

The latest restrictions, which came into effect on Monday, include table service only in bars and restaurants, two-metre social distancing in offices, the closure of nightclubs and a ban on dancing at hospitality venues, with the exception of weddings.

Under the new measures, people are also being asked to limit their social contacts, with the public being advised that only three households should mix together in a private home.

Last week, Ministers agreed a €47 million (£40 million) grant scheme to support hospitality businesses affected by the latest Covid-19 restrictions. – PA