Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill has refused to rule out imposing new restrictions in the region by Christmas.
It comes as a further 14 people died with the disease and a further 351 people tested positive in the North on Tuesday.
Ms O’Neill said everything must remain on the table as political leaders and medics battle to contain the spread of coronavirus, while today saw the first vaccines to protect against the disease administered in the region.
“We have to keep everything under review, everything must be on the table. We cannot be certain but we can give people clarity around when it is going to happen,” she said.
“We have to keep the situation under daily review and that will continue throughout Christmas and the New Year.”
Rise
Ms O’Neill added that pandemic limitations represented an “evolving” situation.
Non-essential retail and other services emerge from a two-week circuit breaker in the region on Friday in time for the pre-Christmas sales rush.
Relaxing curbs on hospitality and close-contact services like hairdressers and beauty salons from Friday is highly likely to lead to a rise in the reproductive rate of the virus, the chief medical and scientific officers have told Stormont ministers.
Ministers hope to keep the reproductive (R) rate – which represents the average number of people someone with Covid-19 goes on to infect – at 1 or under to prevent an exponential growth in infections.
Ms O’Neill said Covid-19 remained very prevalent in society but added the introduction of a vaccine was a significant step forward.
It is a game-changer, it is a big day. It is the day we have long been waiting for
“This (vaccine) shows that there is something else. It is not that this is an eternal pattern of lockdowns and restrictions.
“There is a very clear way out. It is a good day, certainly a day of relief and positivity.”
The first person to receive the vaccine in the region on Tuesday was a 28-year-old nurse from Dundrum in Co Down.
Stormont health minister Robin Swann described the development as a “game-changer”.
“Let us not underestimate the importance of today and what we are seeing with the start of our vaccination programme,” he told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
“It is a game-changer, it is a big day. It is the day we have long been waiting for.”
“This is the start of a long road to recovery, but we are on the first step.”
