With or without vaccines to help prevent serious illness, the Covid-19 virus, mutations, variants and other as yet unknown viruses will circulate in the population as long as people interact to the extent that the transmission rate ‘R’ remains
above one.
An MP has claimed over 100 women in Northern Ireland have been refused an abortion with some turning to the internet for pills.
It comes as new Department of Health figures show there were 22 abortions carried out in Northern Ireland during the financial year of 2019/20
That was an increase of eight on the previous year s 14.
Fifteen terminations were carried out on women aged 30 and over, five on a women aged 25 to 29, and two on women aged 24 and under, the figures show. All were women living in Northern Ireland.
Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019 following an intervention from Westminster and during the suspension of power sharing.
Former SDLP councillor Mairia Cahill has resolved her legal action over a law which required local government election candidates to publish their home address.
Judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State were due to get underway at the High Court in Belfast but the case was taken out of the lists after it emerged that a settlement has been reached.
With a final order set to be issued at a later stage, no further details were disclosed.
Ms Cahill came to public attention in 2010 by alleging she had been raped as a teenager by a member of the IRA.