Coronavirus: NI Executive to discuss plan for easing lockdown

Belfast City Centre Image copyright Pacemaker

The Northern Ireland Executive will continue discussions later on how and when to relax any lockdown restrictions.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy said he hopes a plan will be produced on Thursday, but stressed the executive would not be bound by dates.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson will set out his own blueprint aimed at beginning to ease the UK lockdown.

The executive is due to review its coronavirus legislation by Saturday.

The regulations initially took effect in Northern Ireland on 28 March, and have already been extended once by the executive.

'Get it done correctly'

Ministers have been holding detailed discussions this week about a phased relaxation, in line with advice from the executive's medical scientific advisers.

On Wednesday, Mr Murphy said he hoped the executive could produce such a plan on Thursday, before the bank holiday weekend, but was not definitive that it would be made public by then.

"I'm more concerned about getting it done correctly rather than rushing to meet a deadline," he added.

Last week, the Irish government set out a detailed timeframe for lifting restrictions, running from 18 May to 10 August, to help the Republic of Ireland reopen slowly.

A number of Stormont ministers have said they do not support placing projected dates on phases of lifting lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland, in case certain measures need to be re-imposed.

Last week, Agriculture and Environment Minister Edwin Poots called for churches and garden centres to reopen on a controlled basis.

But Health Minister Robin Swann ruled those changes out, and later warned that the debate about easing restrictions was "getting ahead of itself".

The executive recognises the lifting of any restrictions will not be without risk, and is concerned that if some measures are relaxed too quickly, it could lead to another surge of infections.

A meeting of the emergency Cobra committee about the lockdown, involving ministers from the devolved administrations and the UK government, will take place this week.

Image copyright Getty Images

First Minister Arlene Foster previously suggested Northern Ireland's lockdown restrictions could be lifted at a different pace to the rest of the UK.

On Wednesday, a further 14 deaths related to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland were reported by the Department of Health.

It brings the department's total death toll, mostly comprised of hospital fatalities, to at least 418.

Two sets of figures are published in Northern Ireland:

Northern Ireland's overall death toll will be higher when all deaths in the community are recorded.