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Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Steve Aiken described Covid-19 as an “equal opportunity killer” after Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots claimed that the The incidence of the virus was much higher in nationalist areas than in unionist ones. some.
Five deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in Northern Ireland on Sunday, along with another 1,012 new cases.
With the incidence of the coronavirus now regularly rising to more than 1,000 cases a day in the north, Aiken said Poots should consider his post as minister for “undermining” the collective North Executive response to the pandemic.
On Friday, Mr. Poots gave interviews to the BBC and UTV in which he expressed “serious reservations” about the new Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Northern Executive of which he is a member.
This was the same day that the five leaders of the Northern Executive Party, including DUP Prime Minister Arlene Foster, issued a statement “calling on everyone to support this effort to fight Covid-19 and save lives.”
Poots, in addition to expressing his reservations about making decisions about closing businesses and schools, also said that “many of the problems started” after Republican leader Bobby Storey’s funeral in West Belfast in June. This led to accusations that Sinn Féin had violated the rules on crowds and social distancing, which the party continues to deny.
“The people of that community saw the breaking of the rules. So there is a difference between the nationalist and unionist areas, and the difference is around six to one, ”Mr. Poots said.
He was also accused of targeting the GAA community when he referred to certain sports activities and post-match celebrations. When asked if he was referring to the GAA, he said he was “not labeling a particular group of people, but if people feel like the cap fits, that’s up to them.”
Figures from the Department of Health show that in the mainly nationalist area of Derry and Strabane the incidence rate is much higher than in the other 10 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Over the past seven days, Derry and Strabane experienced 845 cases per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the next highest area of Belfast, where the rate is 523 cases per 100,000.
But overall, it is questionable whether such a conclusion can be drawn across the North. For example, in Newry, Morne and Down, which is predominantly nationalistic, the virus rate is 331 cases per 100,000 compared to the mainly unionist Lisburn and Castlereagh area, where the rate is 333 cases per 100,000.
The lowest rate of infection is found in the mainly unionist area of Mid and East Antrim: 157 cases per 100,000. But the mainly nationalist Fermanagh and Omagh council area is also relatively low, where the rate is 223 cases per 100,000.
The SDLP, UUP, Alliance and Sinn Féin parties accused Mr. Poots of undermining the Executive’s collective message with Sinn Féin MLA Emma Sheerin saying that the Minister was “trying to politicize and sectarianize the issue”.
UUP leader Steve Aiken said Poots should consider his position, an opinion he repeated on the BBC’s Inside Politics program on Sunday.
When asked about Poots’ comment that the virus is higher in nationalistic areas, Aiken said: “I don’t think the virus recognizes zip codes, it doesn’t recognize gender, it doesn’t recognize religions, it doesn’t recognize political affiliation. The coronavirus is an equal opportunity killer. “
DUP Education Minister Peter Weir, on the same show, said that people had a “right to express their opinions”, stating that there was no doubt that Bobby Storey’s funeral “caused a drop in compliance” with the Covid-19 regulations.
Sunday’s figures brought the death toll in Northern Ireland to 615. There were 1,031 positive cases and two deaths in Northern Ireland on Saturday.
Northern Ireland has now recorded 27,220 confirmed Covid cases, with 7,090 of them in the past seven days, an average of more than 1,000 daily cases in the past week.
There are 228 patients in Northern Ireland hospitals receiving Covid treatment, 30 of them in intensive care units and 23 on ventilators.
Meanwhile, PSNI made several arrests and issued fines in a protest against the blockade that took place in Stormont on Sunday afternoon. The crowd was demonstrating against Covid regulations, including wearing masks.
Also on Sunday, the Northern Ireland Prison Service confirmed that four members of its staff at the Hydebank Wood facility for women and young offenders had tested positive for Covid-19.
An additional 14 staff members who tested negative are self-isolating and two inmates have also been isolated as a precaution.
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