London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Ministers to start talks on NI recovery plan

Ministers to start talks on NI recovery plan

First Minister Arlene Foster says NI cannot relax its approach and a path to normality will be gradual.
The first and deputy first ministers will meet the head of the NI Civil Service next week to discuss a "path back to normality", Arlene Foster has said.

But the first minister said while restrictions were working, NI was still in the middle of the surge.

"We cannot relax our guard," she added.

The total number of Covid-19-related deaths announced by the Public Health Agency rose in NI to 176 on Friday.

A further 18 deaths from coronavirus in Northern Ireland were reported on Friday, however the total death toll is likely to be significantly higher, following the publication of new figures showing Covid-19 deaths were a third higher than reported.

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) had published a breakdown of its fuller figures.

The daily figures reported by the PHA record mostly hospital deaths, whereas Nisra's weekly figures are all deaths in Northern Ireland where coronavirus has been recorded on the death certificate.
'Not out of the woods'

Mrs Foster said the Nisra report reflected that people in Northern Ireland would have "a lot of heartache to bear".

However she added that the executive was considering what a "path back to normality" would look like, once the first wave of the pandemic has passed.

She said she and the Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill would meet the head of the civil service in NI, David Sterling, next week to make progress.

But she insisted any lifting of restrictions would be gradual and guided by scientific evidence.

Mrs Foster said: "We will return to something resembling normality, school corridors will eventually bustle again again, and restaurants, bars and sports grounds, concert halls and theatres will entertain once more."

However, many sectors across Northern Ireland had been badly affected by the virus, she added.

"Those on hospital lists have seen waits extended, our economy has taken a massive hit and we hear the calls, we will work closely with business," said the DUP leader.

She said: "Change is going to have to be very delicately handled and our response will be a graduated one."

"Given this may be the first wave of this pandemic and no vaccine is as yet readily available, we will be very much guided by scientific advice and the experience of other parts of the globe where they have relaxed their restrictions."

Ms O'Neill said Northern Ireland was "not out of the woods".

"We're on a knife edge and now is not the time to relax - now is the time to keep working hard, and make sure we're saving lives," she said.

"There is no room for anyone to be relaxed or complacent."

Both ministers urged the public to remain at home over the weekend, despite expected good weather.

There have been 847 more deaths in the UK in the past 24 hours, meaning a total of 14,576 people confirmed to have had the virus have died, with the overall number of cases across the UK reaching more than 100,000.

The actual number of cases is estimated to be much higher, as it is mostly those in hospital and some NHS staff who are currently being tested.

The number of confirmed Covid-19-related deaths in the Republic of Ireland so far is 486.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×