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An evening meeting of the Stormont executive was temporarily suspended tonight amid mounting expectations that Northern Ireland could be facing the prospect of a circuit break lockout.
The meeting started shortly after 9.30pm to discuss how to address Covid-19 infection rates in the region.
A document from Health Minister Robin Swann warned that the virus will continue to spread if both schools and the hotel sector remain open.
The Health Department # COVID-19 The dashboard has been updated with the latest data.
863 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Four deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, three have been reported outside of this period. Https://t.co/YN16dmGzhv pic.twitter.com/vf1xXMko00
– Department of Health (@healthdpt) October 13, 2020
Discussions were postponed shortly after, after SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon requested time to study the recommendations.
The meeting resumed after 11 pm on Tuesday.
If ministers agree to introduce new restrictions in the region, potentially for a period of four weeks, there is the possibility of an evening session of the Stormont Assembly so that MLAs can be briefed on the measures.
The weekly meeting of the power-sharing administration, scheduled for Thursday, was brought forward on Tuesday in an indication of the urgency of the situation.
The two main parties in the coalition, the DUP and Sinn Féin, are understood to have disagreed on how long schools should close during any closure period.
A compromise position can have schools closed for fifteen days, a period that would include the Halloween mid-term break.
These are big decisions, none of them are easy
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Arlene Foster said the decisions to be made will not be easy.
“Some people have said that it is about health versus wealth, I think it is a completely false analysis … poverty kills and unemployment also kills,” he said.
“So it is a balancing act between making sure that we deal with Covid-19, but that we also try to protect our economy, protect our society as we know it, and indeed family life as we know it.
“These are big decisions, none of them are easy.”
The Health Department reported another seven deaths from Covid-19 and another 863 cases on Tuesday.
In the last seven days, 6,286 new positive cases of the virus have been detected, bringing the total number of cases in the region to 21,898.
There are currently 150 patients in hospitals with Covid-19, including 23 in intensive care.
It also emerged on Tuesday that an intensive care unit at Northern Ireland’s Nightingale hospital has been reopened in response to the escalation of Covid admissions in Belfast.
The facility is not yet going up regionally, but will accept Covid-19 patients being treated within the Belfast Trust area.
The Belfast Trust has also canceled 105 planned surgeries at Belfast City Hospital and Musgrave Park Hospital over the next two weeks, to free up staff to respond to the worsening coronavirus situation.
The Derry City and Strabane Council area remains the hardest hit in Northern Ireland, with a case incidence rate of 970 per 100,000 people over the past seven days.
Currently, the area is subject to stricter Covid-19 regulations than the rest of the region.
The rate in the North West is more than double the next highest rate, which is 462 per 100,000 in Belfast.
Michael McBride (Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye / PA) “>Mid Ulster now has a rate of 401, while the Newry, Morne, and Down Council area has a prevalence of 315 per 100,000.
Middle Antrim and East remain the areas with the lowest infection rate, 95 per 100,000.
Medical Director Dr. Michael McBride and Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Ian Young have already recommended a nationwide lockdown lasting four to six weeks.
The goal is to reduce the rate of reproduction of the virus to below one additional infection for each person diagnosed.
Ministers have been warned that the R rate is unlikely to be less than one with schools and hospitality open.
Senior health officials have urged the closure of schools for a period within the closure, though not necessarily for the entire closure.
They have said that action must be taken in a few days and have identified that the six-week lockdown provides the best chance for Northern Ireland to get to Christmas without the need for another.
Ms. Foster indicated Monday that she was not in favor of closing schools.
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