Northern Ireland will introduce a circuit-breaker second lockdown THIS WEEK with pubs due to close for a MONTH from Friday and schools closed for two weeks from MONDAY
- Pubs and restaurants will close their doors for 4 weeks, except for takeaways
- Schools will close for two, one of which will cover the half-term Halloween break
- Understood that shops, churches and gyms for individual training will stay open
- 863 cases reported in Northern Ireland yesterday - bringing the total to 21,898
Northern Ireland will close its pubs for a month from Friday and shut schools for a fortnight from next week under plans for a circuit-breaker lockdown to be announced today.
The province will ramp up its coronavirus measures after it suffered a sharp up-spike in cases. Some 863 cases were reported in Northern Ireland yesterday - bringing the total to 21,898 - along with seven new deaths.
It came as Ireland this morning suggested that it will consider altering its own coronavirus measures in the counties that border Ulster.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster vowed to 'stand by' any businesses and individuals impacted by any new measures. The DUP leader, who will make the announcement in the Assembly later this morning, insisted it was not an option to 'close the country down'.
'For those who will be impacted by any restrictions that we agree, we will stand with you, and we will help you and financially support you as best we can,' she said.
Mrs Foster said it was 'critical' that 'long term' school closures were avoided.
The measures are expected to see pubs and restaurants shut ahead of this weekend, with the exception of takeaways and deliveries. Off-licences will have to close at 8pm.
Shops will remain open, as will gyms for individual training. Churches will also stay open, but with a 25-person guest limit on funerals and weddings.
The fortnight school closure includes a week of half-term holiday, so children would only miss a single week of lessons.
While the moves do not amount to a full scale lockdown similar to that imposed during the first wave of the virus, they mark a significant ramping up in Northern Ireland's response to spiraling infection rates.
Ireland's Tanaiste Leo Varadkar outlined his country's plans this morning.
'We will hear what happens in Northern Ireland this morning and then we will see if we need to respond to that, particularly in relation to the bounder counties,' he said.
'The main reason as to why restrictions might be tightened in border counties is not just what is happening in the north, it's the incidence rate as well which is the highest in the country.
'We will need to respond to what happens as best we can, we tried to co-ordinate with Northern Ireland but the Northern Ireland Executive hasn't agreed to an all-island approach.'
It came as:
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned it is 'inevitable' London will be plunged into a Tier Two lockdown this week;
- A poll found Britons do not believe the Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 'Three Tier' lockdown goes far enough;
- Tory curfew rebels made a symbolic protest against the 10pm pub closure rule but were unable to prevent it;
- Health minister Helen Whately said care home residents' families will be treated as key workers with weekly tests;
- Nicola Sturgeon trolled the PM over his Sage spat, saying her 'circuit breaker' is 'rooted in scientific advice';
- Bolton West Conservative MP Chris Green quit as a parliamentary private secretary over the new lockdown.
Northern Ireland will be the first UK nation to be hit with circuit-breaker second lockdown measures after executive ministers agreed to closures of schools, pubs and restaurants. Pictured: First Minister Arlene Foster
Some 863 cases were reported in Northern Ireland yesterday - bringing the total to 21,898 - along with seven new deaths
Ireland's Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said: 'We will hear what happens in Northern Ireland this morning and then we will see if we need to respond to that, particularly in relation to the bounder counties'
In Northern Ireland's worst-hit area, just under 1 per cent of the population tested positive in the last seven days alone - giving it an infection rate of 970 per 100,000.
It is the highest rolling seven-day rate of new Covid-19 cases UK-wide with Nottingham coming in second at 880.4 cases per 100,000.
The restrictions were agreed after a stop-start meeting of the Stormont executive that extended past midnight and into Wednesday morning.
It is expected that most sporting activities will be limited to elite athletes for the four weeks.
The current restrictions on household mixing are expected to remain as they are.
That means no mixing of households in private dwellings - with some exceptions including those joined in social bubbles - and gatherings in the gardens of private dwellings limited to six people from no more than two households.
After the late night executive meeting concluded, deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill tweeted: 'The Exec has given painstaking consideration to next steps.
'We know this is hard and that people will be worried about their livelihoods, but we will do everything we possibly can to make sure there are protections in place for businesses, workers and families.'
While the moves do not amount to a full scale lockdown similar to that imposed during the first wave of the virus, they mark a significant ramping up in Northern Ireland's response to spiraling infection rates. Pictured: Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald reiterated her party's call for an all-island approach to deal with Covid-19.
She added that the island will 'pay the price' for not having a more co-ordinated approach.
'We need to recognise, particularly in border areas, that the communities are intermingled and intertwined. They are one community,' she told RTE Morning Ireland.
'The problem of the virus transmission is not unique to the north.
'I understand that in Cork the numbers are climbing and that we are probably about a week or 10 days behind the north in terms of the aggression of the transmission, so we have an issue across the island.'
Some 6,286 new positive cases of the virus have been detected in the last seven days, bringing the total number of cases in Northern Ireland to 21,898.
As of Tuesday, there were 150 patients in hospitals with Covid-19, including 23 in intensive care.
The Derry and Strabane Council area has been experiencing the highest infection rate in the UK and Ireland, with a seven day average of 970 cases per 100,000 people.
The area is already subject to additional localised restrictions.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODgzNjQ2Ny9Ob3J0aGVybi1JcmVsYW5kLWZhY2VzLW1vbnRoLWxvbmctY2lyY3VpdC1icmVha2VyLWxvY2tkb3duLmh0bWzSAXRodHRwczovL3d3dy5kYWlseW1haWwuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlLTg4MzY0NjcvYW1wL05vcnRoZXJuLUlyZWxhbmQtZmFjZXMtbW9udGgtbG9uZy1jaXJjdWl0LWJyZWFrZXItbG9ja2Rvd24uaHRtbA?oc=5
2020-10-14 09:10:25Z
CAIiEEcuxx6_sEBgSVF6tKQTRs8qGQgEKhAIACoHCAowzuOICzCZ4ocDMKiaowY
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar