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Northern Ireland will enter a six-week lockdown on Boxing Day amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, Sky News understands.
The new restrictions, which will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on December 26, are expected to include the closure of all non-essential stores, as well as the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants, in addition to take-out services.
It comes after Northern Ireland ministers met Thursday afternoon to discuss proposals for new restrictions as numbers of coronavirus cases continue to rise due to a recent two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown.
Between November 27 and December 10, all nonessential pubs, bars, restaurants and shops were closed in Northern Ireland, and gyms and swimming pools were also closed.
However, Northern Ireland hospitals have been under pressure since the end of that two-week period.
On Thursday, it was announced that another 12 people with COVID-19 had died in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of deaths in the pandemic to 1,154.
Another 656 new cases of the virus were also recorded, with 460 COVID-19 positive patients in hospitals, including 32 in intensive care.
The hospital occupancy rate was 104%.
On Tuesday, queues of ambulances were witnessed in Northern Ireland’s accident and emergency departments as patients were being treated in parking lots due to lack of capacity within hospitals.
At one point, 17 ambulances with patients were lined up in front of the Antrim Area Hospital.
Paramedics from the Republic of Ireland are ready to assist their Northern Ireland counterparts this weekend.
Michael Bloomfield, executive director of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), said the move was “relatively unusual” and reflects the pressure they are under.
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Economy Minister Diane Dodds said Northern Ireland was in an “extremely challenging position” in terms of COVID transmission.
“I have said over and over how difficult this cycle of lockdown is for the economy, we have published data on the cost of the cycle of lockdown to the economy, but we will wait and see what brings the discussion forward in the executive,” she said .
On Wednesday, it was announced that Wales will move to its highest level of restrictions, Level 4 and equivalent to a lockdown, for an initial period of three weeks on December 28.