The Northern Ireland Executive has announced a number of restriction changes to come into place from as early as tomorrow.
It comes after Ministers met on Thursday afternoon to discuss the easing of coronavirus restrictions in line with other jurisdictions.
From tomorrow, Friday January 21, changes to restrictions in hospitality and home settings will come into place, while further restrictions will be eased from next Wednesday, January 26.
On February 10, the Executive will meet again to consider all remaining coronavirus restrictions in Northern Ireland.
Here is everything you need to know about the easing of restrictions and what it means for you.
Changes to come into place from 12 noon on January 21
- In hospitality settings - the requirement to be seated whilst consuming food and/or drink and for table service in premises that provide alcohol will be removed as will the rule of six.
- In domestic settings - guidance regarding the cap on the number households meeting indoors will be removed. (A maximum number of 30 people permitted to gather will be retained in regulation.)
- On face coverings – the requirement to provide proof of exemption will be removed and the reasonable excuse of ‘severe distress’ will be reintroduced.
- The guidance on working from home will revert to working from home where you can with employers encouraged to facilitate this.
The Executive has also been advised by the Department of Health that the minimum self-isolation period for people testing positive for COVID-19 will be reduced to five full days, subject to negative lateral flow tests on days five and six of their isolation.
Changes to come into place from 12 noon on January 26
- Nightclubs will be permitted to open.
- Dancing and indoor standing events can resume.
- In relation to COVID-status certification – the legal requirement will continue to apply in relation to nightclubs and indoor unseated or partially seated events with 500 people or more. For other settings where COVID status certificates are currently required, guidance would strongly encourage their continued use.
- In workplaces - the requirement for offices to take reasonable measures for 2m social distancing will be removed. Guidance remains in place that risk assessments should be carried out.
What the Executive will meet to consider on February 10
On this date, the Executive will review all remaining coronavirus measures in Northern Ireland.
This includes:
- the legal duty on retail to take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of transmission;
- the legal requirement to wear face coverings and the associated duty on businesses to take reasonable measures to ensure compliance;
- the legal requirement for risk assessments in prescribed settings;
- the legal requirement for recording visitor information in prescribed settings;
- the remaining legal requirements in relation to Covid-status certification; and
- the guidance on the regular use of LFD testing, and in particular before meeting up with others.
Health Minister, Robin Swann, has welcomed the decision to ease a number of coronavirus restrictions, and said "cautious optimism" is the best approach to deal with the current phase of the pandemic.
Mr Swann said: “Thanks to a massive effort across Northern Ireland, the worst fears about the Omicron variant have not been realised. I want to pay tribute to everyone who has followed public health advice and helped us get to this point.
“As I said to staff directly this week, the fact our health service is still standing at all is down to their heroic efforts. They will continue to experience those sustained pressures for some time yet.
“This is certainly not the time to throw caution to the wind. That would increase case numbers again, intensify pressures on the health service and set us back significantly in the progress we have been making.
“Cautious optimism will serve us best as we look towards a better future. There are still major uncertainties with this pandemic including the potential for a secondary peak in the coming days and weeks. We must stick to the approach that has produced dividends. That includes ongoing efforts to get more people boosted and vaccinated.”
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