London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Covid-19: Publication of NI lockdown exit plan delayed

Covid-19: Publication of NI lockdown exit plan delayed

Stormont ministers have met to discuss Northern Ireland's recovery plan from lockdown but it is now unlikely to be published until Tuesday.

Ministers had initially hoped to publish the plan on Monday but work to finalise details is ongoing.

It is understood the blueprint will focus on nine areas across social and business settings.

Each section will have five steps out of lockdown, guided by data.

That includes the infection rate of the virus, known as the R number, hospitalisations, vaccine rollout and progress in testing and tracing positive cases.


The delay comes as two more coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded by Northern Ireland's Department of Health.

A further 138 cases of the virus have been recorded in the past 24 hours.


The department's daily dashboard shows there are 302 Covid-19 inpatients across Northern Ireland's hospitals.

Thirty-four patients remain in intensive care and 29 coronavirus patients are on ventilators.

Retailers have been waiting for detail about when they can reopen

Executive ministers are due to meet on Tuesday morning with hopes of signing off the pathway-to-recovery document.

They will also discuss last week's decision by Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons to halt work on post-Brexit border control posts, amid a row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The issue was raised during Monday's executive meeting with some ministers expressing concern that Mr Lyons had taken the decision without consulting other parties.

Speaking later in the assembly, Mr Lyons defended his actions as "entirely sensible and appropriate".

'Destroy the protocol'


The border control posts are based at ports and are used to check food products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Mr Lyons, a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, said he was responding to "practical difficulties" but the move sparked a sharp reaction from Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.

On Monday afternoon, DUP MP Sammy Wilson defended Mr Lyons' decision on border control posts and told BBC's Talkback programme the DUP would "fight the protocol with every means we have".

What might the recovery plan look like?


It is believed the Covid-19 lockdown exit plan includes nine "pathways" to take account of various parts of the Northern Ireland economy.

The plan is not expected to include indicative dates but will set out criteria that must be met before restrictions can be eased.

Northern Ireland's lockdown has been extended until 1 April, with a review due on 18 March.

In England and Scotland, lockdown exit plans that include target dates for easing restrictions have been published but the respective governments have said the lifting of the rules will only happen if certain conditions are met.


In Northern Ireland, children in pre-schools and pupils in primaries one to three will be the first return to class next Monday 8 March.

They will be followed by pupils in years 12 to 14 on 22 March.

Some children are due to return to schools in Northern Ireland next week

Pupils in other years do not yet know when they will return to school.

Meanwhile, some restrictions around visiting care homes and hospitals in Northern Ireland are being eased.

The new rules allowing at least one face-to-face visit per week by one person. Daily one-hour visits will be permitted in hospices and women attending maternity services will be able to have someone with them.

Care homes that do not have an outbreak will also be allowed to facilitate a variety of visiting arrangements, including indoors where possible.

In the Republic of Ireland, lockdown restrictions have been extended until 5 April but some pupils are already returning to school.

On Monday, the Republic recorded one more coronavirus-linked death which happened in January.

It brings the country's death toll to 4,319. A further 687 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×