Further lockdown extension considered as Stormont ministers meet to review Coronavirus restrictions

By Q Radio news

Stormont's set to review Northern Ireland's Coronavirus lockdown restrictions when it meets later today.

A six-week lockdown began on Boxing Day in a bid to halt the spread of the virus .

Businesses are once again closed apart from those listed by government as essential.

Health Minister Robin Swann says he doesn't want to pre-empt the outcome of today's review and will bring his own recommendations to ministers.

Stormont's set to review Northern Ireland's Coronavirus lockdown restrictions when it meets later today. A six-week lockdown began on December 26th in a bid to halt the spread of the virus .https://t.co/mow2aw0mtQ

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) January 21, 2021

(Stormont ministers Robin Swann and Nichola Mallon meet frontline healthcare workers)

In the Republic the country’s current lockdown will continue “well into February, a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party has heard.

Deputy leader Simon Coveney told the meeting on Wednesday that the Government’s current health restrictions will remain in place “for future weeks”.

The Foreign Affairs Minister also said the issue would be discussed at Cabinet next week and that the vast majority of restrictions would be maintained well into next month.

Mr Coveney’s warning comes as 61 further Covid-19 deaths and an additional 2,488 new cases of the virus were confirmed by the Department of Health on Wednesday.

There were 1,923 patients with the virus in hospital, of whom 210 were in intensive care units.

But he said that the current restrictions were working and that the rapid increase in Covid-19 in communities had stopped.

TDs, senators and MEPs also heard that if the AstraZeneca vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency on January 29 as expected, it will change the pace of the roll out of the vaccine in Ireland.