Coronavirus: Parts of NI Under New Restrictions



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Restrictions on visiting other homes will be reintroduced in parts of Northern Ireland after a surge in coronavirus cases.

The new rules affect people from Ballymena, those living in the Belfast council area, and addresses with postcodes BT43, BT28 and BT29.

Those zip codes span areas northeast of Ballymena and parts of Glenavy, Lisburn, and Crumlin.

There will be some exemptions, including domestic “bubbles.”

No more than six people from two households in the affected areas will be allowed to gather in a private garden.

The measures, which mark the first series of localized restrictions to be imposed in Northern Ireland since the close of March, will go into effect next week.

They are expected to be in place for at least fifteen days.

‘Progressive’

Prime Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill outlined the restrictions when they conducted their first joint press conference in Stormont for 73 days.

Ms Foster urged people living in affected areas to “act now and stop the spread of the virus.”

“There is a spread of the virus in Northern Ireland and we need people to work with us to stop that,” he stressed.

Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill urged people living in the affected areas to “avoid unnecessary travel outside the restricted area.”

She said hospitals and nursing homes in those areas would also be advised to limit visits, and allow a family member to visit once a week.

That will be reviewed, he added.

“We may also have to add zip codes to this as the situation develops,” he said.

New date for pub

Ministers also agreed to provide around 600 pubs in Northern Ireland that do not serve food with a new indicative date to reopen.

The executive agreed that the drinks-only pubs may provisionally reopen on September 21, but this will need to be ratified closer to the date.

Non-food pubs in the Republic of Ireland are also aiming to reopen on the same date, but this is under review.

Professor Ian Young, NI’s chief scientific advisor, told the news conference that he was satisfied that the mitigations adopted by the hotel industry would ensure that it was safe to reopen.

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