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Paramedics from the Republic of Ireland have crossed the border to help their counterparts from Northern Ireland this weekend.
It comes as the health service in Northern Ireland continues to face heavy pressure amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Another 17 people with Covid-19 have died in Northern Ireland, bringing the death toll to 1,183.
The Health Department also confirmed another 640 new cases of the virus.
There were 427 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals, 30 of them in ICU. The hospital occupancy rate was 101%.
There are 82 active outbreaks of coronavirus in nursing homes in Northern Ireland.
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HSE Chief Paul Reid said teams from the National Ambulance Services had started working alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service last night.
“The health of the people [is] taking priority, “he said.
The National Ambulance Service (NAS) tweeted that he was working alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service in Belfast.
A NAS team with their own vehicle was deployed to Newry last night, while a NAS paramedic joined the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service team in Belfast.
They were involved in responding to ten calls: six in Newry and four in Belfast.
Four crews and vehicles will be deployed tonight, two in Newry and one in Enniskillen and Derry.
Tomorrow and Monday night, two crews and vehicles will be on duty at Newry.
The Executive unanimously agreed on Thursday to impose a radical six-week blockade, which will take effect on Saint Stephen’s Day.
The first week of those measures will see the toughest lockdown yet in Northern Ireland, with a form of curfew in place starting at 8pm, shops closed after that time, and all indoor and outdoor gatherings. prohibited until 6 am.
Non-essential retail will close for the six weeks, as will contact services closed. Hotel establishments will be limited to take away food services.
Working alongside our @ NIAS999 colleagues in #Belfast tonight. #In thisTogether @NasDirector @DonnellyStephen @HSELive https://t.co/9VycvcHVRz
– National Ambulance Service (@AmbulanceNAS) December 19, 2020
Organized sport will also be banned, with elite sport included in the ban for the first week.
Northern Ireland’s political leaders have faced each other amid a blame game over rising rates of Covid-19 infection in the region.
Prime Minister Arlene Foster said a decline in regulatory compliance was due to high-level Sinn Féin figures attending the funeral of IRA veteran Bobby Storey at a time when strict limits were placed on numbers. .
The DUP leader, who also spoke of a failure of society as a whole, made the claims after Sinn Féin Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill accused the DUP of acting against public health councils by oppose stronger measures before the pandemic.
On Tuesday, queues of ambulances were witnessed at Northern Ireland’s accident and emergency (ED) departments as patients were being treated in car parks due to lack of capacity within hospitals.
At one point, 17 ambulances with patients lined up outside the emergency department at the Antrim Area Hospital.
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