COVID-19: Stormont advises against travel between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK | UK News

Stormont ministers are ready to advise against non-essential travel between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK after a total ban was rejected.

Northern Ireland ministers will also advise people not to travel to the Republic of Ireland.

A Sinn Fein proposal for a temporary travel ban between Northern Ireland and Great Britain was rejected during an emergency virtual executive meeting late at night, the Press Association understands.

The meeting was called on short notice after Health Minister Robin Swann circulated a document in response to the emergence of the COVID-19 variant, recommending issuing guidance against all but essential travel rather than travel. proceed to an immediate ban.

It is understood that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Alliance opposed Sinn Fein’s proposal while the Social Democratic Labor Party (SDLP) supported it.

After that was rejected, ministers agreed to Swann’s recommendations without the need for a formal vote.

The document presented by the health minister also called for more preparatory work to examine the legal issues surrounding the introduction of any travel ban.

He drafted the proposals after consulting with the Northern Ireland Attorney General on the issue of travel restrictions.

After the meeting, Swann tweeted: “I am pleased that the executive accepted my document tonight, including immediate guidance against all but essential travel between NI and GB / RoI, with all newcomers here requested to be self-isolate for 10 days.

“More work is needed on the legal travel ban option, both legally and logistically, vital supplies for NI and essential travel must be protected.”

Before the executive meeting, Sinn Fein Finance Minister Conor Murphy wrote to Swann expressing “dismay and amazement” that he was not immediately moving to instigate a travel ban between Northern Ireland and Britain.

Mr. Murphy asked Mr. Swann to reconsider the position he had stated in his document.

Ministers have been debating the possibility of amending the 1967 Public Health Act to introduce short-term travel restrictions.

While Sinn Fein supports the measure, the DUP insists that internal UK travel is already banned in Level 4 areas in England, so there’s no need to add Stormont legislation to enforce that.

Earlier Monday, DUP Prime Minister Arlene Foster warned of serious ramifications should a travel ban be introduced.

Ms Foster said the new strain of coronavirus has likely already arrived and warned that supply chains could be in jeopardy by restricting travel.

“It’s a very simplistic thing to say, ‘let’s close Northern Ireland,'” he said.

“That has ramifications and as prime minister I have to take them into account as well.

“I have always tried to be proportionate and balanced in everything I have done during this crisis, and I will continue to do so.”

On Monday night, Sinn Fein Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill tweeted: “We are facing a very serious situation.

“There is no time to waste (sic) in agreeing to a travel ban from Britain. Belfast and Dublin must act together to keep everyone on this island safe.”

The leader of her party, Mary Lou McDonald, tweeted an identical message.

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Sir Patrick Vallance, scientific adviser to the UK government, previously said that there was now a ‘reinforced’ view that the variant strain was spreading more rapidly.

Fears of the new variant have led some 40 countries effectively cut travel with the UK and they have also tightened travel rules within Britain.

Health officials in Greater Manchester and West Midlands went so far as to urge anyone arriving from areas in England with the most severe restrictions – and travelers from Wales – to “assume” they have the new mutation and self-isolate for 10 days.