Northern Ireland economy minister calls for Covid restrictions to end soon
The devolved Northern Ireland government must set out a pass to end all Covid-19 restrictions, Stormont’s economy minister has said.
Gordon Lyons, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has called on first minister Paul Givan to have all restrictions to be ended by the end of next month.
Givan has previously indicated that he also wants to end Covid curbs at this point.
Speaking to the BBC today, Lyons said: “We need to start moving on these issues, we have to take into account the impact on the economy, the health service and society more generally.
“Although we have a steady number of cases, we have had a massive reduction in the number of hospitalisations compared to January and February.
“As an executive we’ve all said we want these restrictions to end as soon as possible, taking all the evidence on board including the economic and health data as well.”
Northern Ireland still has a limit of 10 people from three different households meeting indoors, along with one-metre social distancing rules.
Face masks are still required by law to be worn in enclosed public spaces, while table service is mandatory in all hospitality venues.
The latest statistics revealed that one-in-40 people in Northern Ireland had Covid last week as numbers reached their highest point since last October.
Around 68 per cent of all people in Northern Ireland have one jab, while 61 per cent of all people are fully vaccinated.