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Stormont leaders have championed the relaxation of circuit breaker restrictions in Northern Ireland today at a time when daily death and infection figures remain high.
Prime Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill also pledged to take the Covid-19 vaccine in public, as they urged people to follow regulations set by the Executive until the vaccine is rolled out in Northern Ireland. .
They justified the lifting of the restrictions when Health Minister Robin Swann warned that a “free party for all” would be “catastrophic” for the hospital system under pressure from the North.
Stores and much of the hospitality sector have reopened after two weeks of strict measures to curb the spread of the virus. Pubs that do not serve food will be closed.
Movie theaters, museums, galleries and gyms will reopen and normal religious services can resume, and more people will be allowed to attend weddings and funerals.
Read: Latest Covid-19 Stories
Yesterday, Northern Ireland recorded 14 new deaths related to Covid-19 and 441 new cases of the virus.
There have been 67 deaths in the last seven days, seven more than the previous week.
On Wednesday, Stormont’s chief scientific advisor, Professor Ian Young, warned that circuit breaker compliance had not been at the level expected by health chiefs.
During a press conference yesterday, Ms. Foster and Ms. O’Neill were pressed on whether the relaxations were advisable given the infection and death rates.
Ms. Foster noted that the data was reported with a delay and said she anticipated that rates would soon begin to fall in response to the circuit breaker measures.
The DUP leader said that the fact that the R rate of the virus had been reduced to “around 1” had given the Executive “room for maneuver” to proceed with the reopening.
“Safety is paramount,” he said. “Relaxing restrictions does not mean that the need for each person to follow public health guidelines has been alleviated.”
He stressed that restrictions on family gatherings were not relaxed and made clear that the relaxations on holiday family gatherings did not take effect until December 23.
Ms. Foster said that neither Professor Young nor Medical Director Dr. Michael McBride had raised concerns about today’s relaxations at yesterday’s executive meeting.
Referring to the evidence of non-compliance presented by Professor Young, Ms Foster said that people were “tired” with Covid-19.
She said: “We are pleading with people to stay with us and we know that we have analyzed the behavioral piece in terms of what has been going on, not only in Northern Ireland, but also in other countries, and the longer it lasts. this, the less adherence there is and that is a real difficulty.
“And we are simply telling people that you have personal responsibility to yourself, to your friends, to your family so that we can get to the stage where we can keep everyone safe with the vaccination program.”
Ms. O’Neill said: “The decision to lift some of the restrictions, and obviously not all restrictions, is the result of the conversation in the Executive and obviously has the support of the public health team.”
“But as with all of these things all the way through the pandemic, we have always tried to strike a balance between protecting lives and protecting livelihoods.
“And we know how difficult this is for many people who have lost their jobs, many families struggling to put food on the table as a direct result of having no income.
“And we know that this is a very difficult situation for many people, so we are always trying to find that balanced path.”
He urged people to stick to the regulations. “Don’t throw in the towel just yet,” he said.
“It’s not the moment. There is light at the end of the tunnel, there is a path, the vaccine is here, its deployment has begun.
“But in the here and now the virus is still among us. It is out there, in our community, among our loved ones.
Please protect yourself, protect your loved ones. Let’s try to have a healthy, happy and safe Christmas, and make sure we don’t put pressure on our healthcare workers who are exhausted. “
Yesterday the safety guide for the reopening of hotel businesses was published.
No more than six adults from no more than two households are allowed at a table. The closing time will be at 11 pm at the latest.
All outlets will also be required to collect the details of each customer to assist with contact tracing.
Swann said compliance was key.
“While we all want to enjoy the festive season, we should never be satisfied with the threat of Covid-19,” he said.
“The virus still circulates in our community and continues to claim lives.
“Each of us has choices to make regarding our actions. If there is a party of all against all in which public health advice is ignored, it will cost lives and put unbearable pressure on our hospitals. We must avoid these catastrophic consequences “.
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