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Updated 20 minutes ago
NORTHERN IRELAND The Executive agreed to reduce the five-day Christmas bubble arrangements in the region to just one day.
The relaxation of Covid rules to allow three households to meet will now be limited to Christmas day.
But people working December 25 will be given flexibility to allow them to bubble up another day during the holidays.
The decision was made by Stormont ministers during an emergency virtual executive meeting last night.
Ministers also debated the potential for a temporary travel ban from Britain to Northern Ireland in response to the new variant of Covid-19 that has been established in other parts of the UK.
No decision was made during last night’s exchanges, and ministers are expected to return to the issue today.
It is understood that executive ministers debated amending the Public Health Act of 1967 to introduce short-term travel restrictions.
Sinn Féin supported the measure, however practical questions were raised about how quickly such a ban could be introduced, given how long it would likely take the Health Department to draft the regulations for it to take effect.
The DUP’s position was that internal UK travel is already banned in Tier 4 areas in England, so there’s no need to add Stormont legislation to enforce that.
The party believes that the responsibility to stop flights and ferries within the UK is a problem for the UK government and has also raised concerns that Stormont could be left open to compensation liabilities if it were to legislate on the issue.
It is understood that the Health Department will seek further legal advice on the matter before the executive resumes discussions today.
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly criticized the decision not to ban flights from the UK.
Kelly said: “The DUP is refusing to agree to a travel ban from Britain at this time, not only is it stupidly ideological, but it will bring death danger to many more vulnerable people, by opening up to the most virulent strain of COVID ever unleashes in Britain “. . “
DUP refuses to agree to a travel ban from Britain at this time, not only is it stupidly ideological, but it will bring life-threatening danger to many more vulnerable people, by opening up to the most virulent strain of COVID raging in Britain.
– Gerry Kelly (@GerryKellyMLA) December 21, 2020
It comes after the Republic of Ireland and several other European countries imposed travel bans from Great Britain.
The Northern Ireland Department of Health confirmed yesterday that another 13 people with Covid-19 had died within a 24-hour period, bringing the death toll to 1,196.
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505 new cases of the virus were also reported in the region.
There were 421 Covid-19 patients in hospitals, including 30 in the ICU.
The Northern Ireland Executive decided last week to impose a six-week lockdown from December 26.
The first week of the measures will see the toughest lockdown yet in Northern Ireland, with a form of curfew in place from 8pm, shops closed thereafter, and all indoor and outdoor gatherings banned. until 6 am
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