The North’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister disagreed in the Assembly on Monday over the DUP’s use of a cross-community veto last week to block the extension of Covid-19 restrictions for a fortnight. First Minister Arlene Foster defended the DUP’s use of the mechanism while acknowledging that it was a “blunt tool”. Health Minister Robin Swann had argued that the restrictions would run for an extra two weeks but was overruled. Prof Young told the BBC it was “more likely than not” that additional restrictions would be required before the holiday period. Mr Swann did not say if additional restrictions would entail the re-imposition of a full or partial shutdown of the hospitality sector.

Source: The Irish Times November 16, 2020 14:46 UTC