Remaining Covid-19 restrictions to be lifted in North from Tuesday

All remaining Covid-19 restrictions are to be lifted in Northern Ireland from Tuesday.

In a written ministerial statement to the Stormont Assembly on Monday evening, the North's minister for health, Robin Swann, said the remaining Covid-19 rules would be replaced by guidance.

Mr Swann said he intended to make an order on Tuesday revoking the remaining restrictions and updating the relevant advice.

The rules to be removed on Tuesday include the requirement to wear a face covering in a public place, for business owners to have measures to limit the transmission of Covid-19 in place, and Covid certification schemes.

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The resignation of the First Minister, the DUP's Paul Givan, earlier this month – which triggered the collapse of the Northern Executive – had cast doubt over whether Mr Swann would be able to act to remove the remaining Covid-19 rules in its absence.

However, he was able to do so after he received the backing of all the parties which formerly made up the Executive following consideration of legal advice from the North’s attorney general.

He said his decision was also based on the latest public-health assessment from the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser.

Mr Swann said it moved the response to Covid-19 “into a new phase” and with the “reduced threat” of the Omicron variant “we can move away from an emergency and legalistic framework to a new approach where making safer choices is embedded in our daily lives”.

However, he warned people should still continue to do their best to cut down the risk of infection and transmission by following public-health guidance.

“Please do not jump the gun and start behaving as if the pandemic is over. That is not the case,” Mr Swann said.

Despite the easing of restrictions he said it was "important that our ability to make restrictions again in case of urgent need is retained" and therefore he would seek to extent the emergency powers granted by the Coronavirus Act in case a new variant emerged.

But he warned that “even with these powers in place, however, it would almost certainly be impossible to introduce new restrictions in the absence of an Executive”.

Official apology

Meanwhile, an official apology to the victims of historical institutional abuse is set to be delivered as scheduled despite the collapse of the Executive.

The First and Deputy First Ministers had previously pledged to deliver the apology on March 11th, but it was thrown into doubt following Mr Givan’s resignation.

Instead the North’s five main parties agreed on Monday that a minister from each party would deliver the apology.

The commissioner for survivors of institutional childhood abuse, Fiona Ryan, said the main response from victims and survivors was "largely one of relief following the anxiety of the last 11 days" and there was a "broad welcome that the apology is finally moving forward".

Earlier on Monday the minister for communities, the Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey, told the Assembly a £36 million project to upgrade and redevelop sub-regional soccer stadiums could not progress in the absence of an Executive.

Her party colleague, minister for finance Conor Murphy, said redevelopment of a new GAA stadium at Casement Park in Belfast would go ahead as it was a flagship Executive project and funding was guaranteed.