Coronavirus: NI businesses to reopen ahead of new restrictions

Businesses in Northern Ireland such as cafes and hair salons are allowed to reopen after some of the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Stormont Executive last month ended on Friday.

But ministers have agreed that a new two-week so-called "circuit-break" lockdown will begin on 27 November.

That will involve the closure of non-essential retail, close-contact services, restaurants, and churches apart from for weddings and funerals.

Schools remain open under the measures.

Ministers have also advised against household gatherings outside of support bubbles, and said people should work from home "if at all possible".

Hotels and other accommodation providers can operate on a restricted basis, such as for work-related travel and for vulnerable people.

The restrictions have been criticised by many businesses leaders, with the Stormont Executive being described as a "coalition government run by numbskulls" by the prominent hotelier Bill Wolsey.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said the situation facing ministers was "quite stark" and there was concern that hospitals would be "in a pretty bad state" without tight restrictions being put in place.

Speaking to BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster on Friday, the Alliance Party leader she said: "It was predictable - we knew this last week.

"It is why I favoured a two-week rollover of the original restrictions that we had in place but we weren't able to achieve that and so when we came back at this yesterday the health advice had not changed and the situation was actually quite stark.

Mrs Long also apologised that other executive ministers had not yet accepted requests for media interviews.

She said it was her understanding that the first and deputy first ministers and the health minister had planned to speak publicly but she was not aware why they had not.

Health Minister Robin Swann had warned that without immediate action there could be a need for restrictions in December due to the pressures the pandemic is placing on the health service.

The Executive's chief scientific advisor Prof Ian Young said Northern Ireland's R-rate - the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus to - is "around one".

In response to the measures to be imposed on 27 November, Mr Swann said in a statement: "Without this further intervention there was a very real risk of our hospitals being overwhelmed in the run up to Christmas.

"All of us now have to work really hard to achieve a happier festive season."

Mr Wolsey, who runs several hotels and pubs in Belfast city centre, was "not massively surprised" by the move but was critical of ministers who "can't even produce a coherent policy to fight a common enemy".

Simon Hamilton, the chief executive of the Belfast Chamber, said businesses were "sympathetic" to the need for steps to "save lives".

But he warned that there could be "unfathomable job losses" without "a multi-million pound rescue and support package".

Colin Neill, the chief executive of Hospitality Ulster, said the sector he represents has been "left with no trade, no hope and a huge amount of redundancies".

The executive has said it will develop further financial support packages in the coming days.

On Thursday, it agreed that businesses which are allowed to reopen between 20-26 November but choose not to will be able to access funding.

The Stormont Health Committee chair and Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew said the measures were unwelcome but "necessary".

"There is absolutely nothing to celebrate here, this is a very, very dangerous situation and it's imperative the executive takes all the steps necessary both to save lives and also protect the hospital services," he said.

"Part of that strategy must be support and we have to see support for people who cannot work."

SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole said he feels "desperately sorry" for businesses that will be affected by the restrictions.

"These measures seem to have become necessary because we didn't take stricter measures earlier," he said.

He said he agreed with the closure of non-essential retail "on the basis that we need to get the numbers down dramatically".

However, he said it was incumbent upon the executive to "maximise support because the cash is there" for businesses.