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Ministers in Northern Ireland intend to publish their plan to exit the shutdown tomorrow, Prime Minister Arlene Foster said.
She said restrictions on outdoor activities would be eased sooner than indoors.
Today it was announced that three other people died as a result of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, bringing the official number of deaths from the Health Department to 438. Another 30 confirmed cases of Covid-19 bring the total to 4,149.
There are currently 676 confirmed or suspected coronavirus patients in the hospital, of whom 19 are in intensive care.
To date, 4,503 confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients have been treated and discharged.
The DUP leader told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster program that the position of when to reopen schools has not yet been decided, but suggested it could be in late August or early September.
Mrs Foster said: “We examined our medical evidence here in Northern Ireland and decided that, for the public health of the people of Northern Ireland, we proceeded to reimplement those regulations (coronaviruses) and at the same time look at a roadmap for our destiny to the new normal.
“I don’t think there is any surprise at all that we are trying to make sure that plan comes to light, hopefully tomorrow if they sign us.”
The coronavirus response has been the first major test of a power-sharing administration in Stormont, which was restored in January after a three-year hiatus.
The Prime Minister added: “The whole point of return is the fact that we can have localized solutions within a UK framework and I think that is what we are doing across the UK at the moment.”
“The reason for this, of course, is that transmission of the virus is different in different parts of the UK, therefore we must treat the virus the way we need to treat it here in Northern Ireland.”
Northern Ireland Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin said schools should not reopen until September.
Read more: Northern Ireland will not adopt new UK Covid-19 message
Edwin Poots, another DUP member of the Ministerial Executive in Belfast, suggested that garden centers could be reopened and social distancing managed during some religious services.
Today, Ms. Foster said that allowing outdoor activities before indoor events made sense given how the virus spread.
“We will be able to move faster to allow for outdoor activities than large gatherings indoors.
“I think what we should do is take a gradual approach to this.”
“This is a novel coronavirus and therefore means that it is completely new, therefore we must listen to what our experts tell us about the transmission of the disease and in doing so draw up a gradual plan forward, a plan Sure, so that we can move to a new normal where people can participate in work, they can participate in society again. “
The Irish News, a Belfast-based newspaper, reported that the exit strategy will be based on a five-point plan, but will not have a specific date.
He added that the roadmap to ease the restrictions could begin implementation later this month.
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