Health

Foster says next week a ‘key decision point’ on NI lockdown strategy

Further nine deaths with Covid-19, and another 253 cases were reported in North

Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy and First Minister Arlene Foster during a media briefing at The Hill of O’Neill centre in Dungannon, Co Tyrone. Photograph: Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA Wire

Thu Feb 11 2021 - 18:36

Next week will be a “key decision point” for Northern Ireland’s leaders over lockdown restrictions, Arlene Foster has said.

The First Minister hailed the “significant achievement” of pushing down the curve of coronavirus infections across “all of the health indicators”.

She said the R number is “steadily below 1” in the community, “probably between 0.75 and 0.85”.

Ms Foster described the daily case number of 253, and hospital inpatients falling to 518 from 746 a week ago and the numbers of Covid patients being treated in ICU falling below 60, as “another gradual but positive step forward”.

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She added it is right to take a moment to reflect on that after “considerable curtailment” on freedoms, to provide encouragement to the public and gratitude for their efforts to stem the spread of the virus.

A further nine deaths with Covid-19, and another 253 cases were reported by the Department of Health on Thursday. There are 518 Covid-positive patients in hospital, with 58 in intensive care.

Ms Foster said asymptomatic testing is set to be expanded as part of the UK-wide programme, with a focus on council areas where there are “stubbornly” high numbers of cases to “address any localised issues”.

‘As low as possible’

“We need to see the numbers as low as possible so that we can safely plan for gradually emerging from the lockdown,” she told an Executive press conference in Dungannon.

“We all want to see an end of the restrictions but we must approach that with care so we don’t lose the gains that we have made.”

Mrs Foster also referred to the vaccination programme approaching a “significant milestone”, with a quarter of all adults in the region expected to have received a first dose of a jab by the weekend.

Stormont finance minister Conor Murphy, who appeared alongside Ms Foster, said there is a “little bit of a slowdown” in the decline of cases, but it is “moving in the right direction” and ministers want to encourage the public to stick with the restrictions.

“Any changes to the restrictions of our behaviours will cause the pandemic to escalate so the restrictions do remain necessary and the actions of the public are still crucially important,” he said.

“The Executive are looking forward to the next phase of our response.

“There is a collective focus on a managed recovery guided by the medical and the scientific advice.”

Ms Foster said there are no international flights from any red list countries coming into Northern Ireland, and the Executive is continuing to work with the UK government in relation to quarantine arrangements.

“Today we decided, along with Scotland and Wales, to use the procurement process that is in place around support and welfare, and if needs be in future, the quarantine hotels as well,” she said. “We believe that there is some light at the end of a long tunnel in relation to the sharing of data from Dublin Airport and we hope that that is going to be resolved soon.” - PA

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