Northern Ireland’s Powershare Executive will consider the amount of funds to compensate businesses when discussing measures to address the increased Covid-19 infection rate.
The new regulations now apply to the Derry and Strabain areas, but no compensation measures have yet been put in place to help the affected business.
For several consecutive days, the number of Kovid-19 infections in Northern Ireland has been higher than the southern rate across the border.
In Northern Ireland, 669 new cases of Kovid-19 have been declared.
In the last seven days, 4,005 cases have been reported. The total number of cases rose to 15,359.
Another death was reported, at 585.
The increased restrictions in the Derry and Strabayne regions are similar to the Level 3 conditions currently in effect in the Republic.
One of the decisions facing Storymont ministers is whether to extend the Derry and Strabaine measures to areas such as Nuri, Morne and Belfast.
The executive has limited funds and requests for additional funding are ongoing.
At the same time, executive policy encourages more widespread adherence to existing guidelines and regulations rather than introducing new ones.
Stonemont’s chief science adviser said yesterday that the Covid-19 death toll was almost certain to rise in the coming weeks.
Professor Ian Young said all indicators of the spread of the virus in this area were moving in the wrong direction.
The Chief Medical Officer said that there are more restrictions than there are now. Michael McBride said.
Professor Young said the number of hospital admissions is doubling once every seven days.
He said there is a rate every four days when ordering the first lockdown in March.
Professor Young said the current number of reproductions in Northern Ireland, i.e. the average number of people affected by the disease, is 1.4. It was 2.8 in March.
“It’s a bit slower than March, but the epidemic is going in the same direction on all sides,” he said.
The CMO said Northern Ireland could reach 300 Covid-19 inpatients a day – the March rate – over the next two weeks.
Additional Reporting PA
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