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The increasing cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland are due to the “failure of society as a whole,” Prime Minister Arlene Foster said.
Ms Foster also criticized Sinn Féin, claiming that the attendance of prominent figures at IRA veteran Bobby Storey’s funeral in June, at a time when strict limits were set on numbers, had damaged public health messages.
His comments came after Sinn Féin Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill accused the DUP of ignoring public health advice on last month’s shutdown decisions.
Ms Foster said: “We are in a particularly bad place, I am very sorry that that is the case and it is a failure of society as a whole that we have had to introduce these restrictions in the draconian way that they are coming in at night. of boxing.
“We made a very draconian decision last night, one that I never thought we would have to make. I am very sorry that we had to make it, but we had to make it and we were faced with a huge problem of difficulty in Northern Ireland.”
He said that people must take personal responsibility for their actions in the future. “We are facing very, very difficult times in Northern Ireland,” said the DUP leader.
“Of course, before the end of June last year, compliance in Northern Ireland was very good and, in fact, we were the envy of other colleagues in the UK.
“But at the end of June, one of the parties, Sinn Féin, decided while enacting the laws that they were also above the laws. And now we find ourselves in a situation where messaging is very difficult. We have seen a failure in compliance and I am very, very sorry that that is the case. “
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Michelle O’Neill insisted that the executive was taking a collective approach to decision making.
“Obviously we are in a very severe situation right now, and the executive has had to intervene,” he said.
“There is a collective approach to this and the executive as a whole agrees that we had to intervene.”
The Sinn Féin president was asked if his claim that he had never deviated from public health councils was credible given his attendance at Storey’s funeral.
She responded: “In terms of following public health advice, I said that I never deviated from the advice of the medical director when he presented, or the health team presented, proposals on how to respond to Covid.”
Tonight in Belfast, teams from the Irish National Ambulance Service work alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. People’s health takes priority #Teamwork #Proud @Ambulance @ NIAS999 @HSELive # COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/PIpcYFihA2
– Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) December 18, 2020
Tighter restrictions
Northern Ireland will have tighter nightly restrictions for one week starting December 26 as it enters six weeks of tough new measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19.
Full details of the new restrictions were released today.
The ministers agreed to shut down non-essential retail and contact services, as well as to restrict the hospitality sector to takeout only.
No sporting events will be allowed, with a general message for the public to stay home.
Places of worship may remain open under strict conditions.
Home goods stores will not be classified as essential retailers.
Additional overnight restrictions will be in effect from December 26 to January 2 between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
During these hours, all businesses that remain open during closing must close.
No indoor or outdoor gatherings will be allowed, even at sports venues.
Nor will the mixing of households be allowed in any scenario between these hours, “except for emergencies or the provision of health or care services or when households have chosen to form a Christmas bubble for a period of time between 23 and 27 of December with provision to travel one day to both sides when absolutely necessary. “
Exercise outdoors will only be allowed with members of the same household.
However, festive bubbling arrangements will be allowed.
The measures are scheduled to be reviewed after four weeks.
Another 12 people with Covid-19 have died in Northern Ireland, bringing the region’s death toll to 1,166.
Figures from the Northern Ireland Department of Health have also recorded another 510 new cases of the virus.
The number of positive cases registered is now 60,797.
The hospital occupancy rate is 102%.
Northern Ireland Medical Director Dr Michael McBride said the public “should have no doubt” that the six-week lockdown is “absolutely necessary if we are to have the transmission of this virus under control.”
He told the BBC: “Due to the winter months, it is the best time for this virus in terms of transmission and it is the worst time in terms of impact on our health service.”
“Whether it is hospitality, non-essential retail or the contribution of schools, there should be nothing on or off the table.”
However, Stormont Education Minister Peter Weir said tonight that Northern Ireland schools will reopen as scheduled in January.
He said that “in the best interest of all students” he had decided that all schools and other educational settings would reopen in the first week of January.
Weir said: “My top priority has always been to protect the education, mental health and well-being of our children. I believe this can best be achieved through face-to-face learning and social participation in schools.
“I am aware of the impact that the pandemic is having on our children and youth, particularly those who are vulnerable and come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“We have a large number of vulnerable children in Northern Ireland, for many of these pupils school is a safe haven and the closure of schools will immediately deprive them of this safe space.
“That is why I have decided that the best thing for all students is that schools open in the first week of January so that their education is not interrupted any more.
The northern secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organization has asked the Northern Ireland Minister of Education to reconsider his “hasty decision” that schools in Northern Ireland will reopen as planned in January.
Gerry Murphy expressed his members’ “anger, disappointment, and frustration” at Weir’s decision to wait until 8 pm the night most schools had closed for the Christmas break to inform principals that the Schools will normally reopen next month.
“The minister clearly does not take into account the health and well-being of the education workers, members of INTO, and seems to have little concern for the children and young people in charge of his department or their parents,” he said.
Murphy said that instead of reopening schools, the minister should take into account the rapid rise in the R number and consider where it stands “in light of the broader strategy already agreed to by the NI Executive.”
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