No doubt an intervention is required over Covid-19 – Michelle O’Neill

By Rebecca Black, PA.

Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister has said there is “no doubt” that an intervention is required to gain control over the spread of coronavirus.

Michelle O’Neill said the Executive will discuss the timing of an intervention when ministers meet on Thursday.

Health Minister Robin Swann is due to bring proposals for further Covid-19 restrictions to the Executive.

Ms O’Neill said she intends to make the “right decision” around coronavirus restrictions, and “not the popular one”.

“Christmas will be here next year also, it is a very difficult time, it is a very difficult decision to make as political leaders, sometimes you have to do the right thing, not the popular thing and in my mind what we need to do is whatever is right to keep people safe and to save lives,” she said.

“I am up for doing whatever is required, so I’ll work with Executive colleagues tomorrow to try and arrive at a position that actually delivers that.”

First Minister Arlene Foster said she did not expect Mr Swann to be recommending that new measures be introduced before Christmas.

“I don’t think he will be proposing closing down before Christmas but we will of course look to see what Robin and his team of advisers have to say to us, I don’t want to prejudge what he is going to say to us tomorrow but we are in a serious situation,” she said.

“Unfortunately the last two weeks don’t appear to have brought the R number down below 1, there is a diminishing return in terms of restrictions, people are out and about now and so there is a very great need for people to have personal responsibility.

“I am not going to prejudge what the minister is going to bring to us but undoubtedly we will have something to say tomorrow and over the next few days.”

Ms O’Neill also urged people to follow the public health advice, and asked they limit their movements ahead of Christmas gatherings.

Asked if the Executive had eased circuit-breaker restrictions too soon, Ms O’Neill said: “We followed the public health advice the whole way through, I wouldn’t have done anything unless it was supported by the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser and that will be the position again tomorrow.

“But I would make a strong case that we clearly need an intervention, it’s the timing of when that can be most effective that we need to consider, but I don’t think there is any doubt that an intervention is required.”

Mrs Foster and Ms O’Neill both expressed concern at pressures on the health service.

Health Minister Robin Swann said “decisive action” was required by the Stormont Executive to suppress the virus.

He said the public expected ministers to take “robust” steps.

"Just because you can do something it doesn't mean you have to do it," says Health Minister @RobinSwannMoH

"If any situation makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, then walk away from it." pic.twitter.com/QeKDb4uTAP

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) December 16, 2020

“We now once again need a united front right across society to get us through this period and into the better days,” he said.

Mr Swann said the vaccine had provided hope for the future.

However, he warned: “There will be some very dark hours and they will come before that dawn.”

Meanwhile,

Jennifer Walsh, chief executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, told a Stormont briefing that trust bosses were “extremely concerned” about the “severe” pressures on hospitals.

Ms Walsh said it was wrong to claim the situation currently unfolding in the region’s hospitals as something that happened every year.

“This is not a normal winter,” she insisted.

She urged the public to take every precaution possible to stop the spread of the virus.

Jennifer Welsh from the Northern Trust says the scenes of ambulances waiting outside hospitals last night were "truly depressing."

She says this is not a normal winter - a quarter of beds at Antrim Area Hospital yesterday were occupied by those with Coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/xv9HAk1N5y

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) December 16,

Joanna Sloan, a senior nurse who last week became the first person in Northern Ireland to be vaccinated, also addressed the media briefing.

She urged the public to show patience and to give healthcare staff time to roll out the vaccine.

Ms Sloan said hospitals were expecting a “significant spike” in cases in the coming weeks.

“We are looking at a very, very difficult January,” she said. “We are making extreme plans for what is ahead in January and thereafter.”

Sister Joanna Sloan, the first person to receive the Coronavirus vaccine in NI, says the initial aim has been to vaccinate care home residents and staff.

She says 1,700 people have already been given the jab in care homes in the Belfast Trust. pic.twitter.com/1dybPfwvIR

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) December 16, 2020