Northern Ireland has now officially extended the coronavirus lockdown by an additional three weeks.
First Minister Arlene Foster has said the regulations will now remain in place until May 9, 2020.
“We review that every three weeks and we will now review that again based on the data that we have as to what should happen in the future,” she said.
“When this all started the process was about containing, then it was about delaying, then it was about mitigation and the next phase of that is recovery. We’re not at that stage yet but what we will be doing in the executive will be planning for the recovery and of course it’s right that we need to plan for the recovery.”
The rest of the UK has followed Northern Ireland’s lead in extending the lockdown with Foreign secretary Dominic Raab confirming the government’s decision on April 16.
The extension means retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, including travel agencies, will have to keep their doors closed for the foreseeable future.
the Foreign Secretary offered no further comment or guidance on the Foreign Office’s decision earlier this month to update its travel advice to advise against all non-essential travel worldwide for an “indefinite” period.
“We know it’s rough going,” said Raab. “We must keep up this national effort for a while longer, we’re seeing our efforts paying off. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
