Parties call for emergency meeting of NI Executive over new Covid strain
PA
20 December 2020, 1:54 pm
Four of the five power-sharing parties in Northern Ireland are calling for an emergency meeting of the Executive to discuss the new strain of Covid-19 found in England.
Government ministers from Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party and the SDLP issued a joint request for an Executive meeting to be held on Sunday.
In a letter seen by PA news agency, Minister for Justice Naomi Long, Minister for Finance Conor Murphy and Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon raised concerns about the more infectious coronavirus variant found in England.
Northern Ireland parties call for emergency meeting over new coronavirus strain
Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party and the SDLP issued a joint request for ministers to meet. By Press Association Sunday 20 Dec 2020, 3:57 PM Dec 20th 2020, 3:57 PM 23,064 Views 21 Comments
Image: PA
Image: PA
FOUR OF THE FIVE five power-sharing parties in Northern Ireland are calling for an emergency meeting of the Executive to discuss the new strain of Covid-19 found in England.
Government ministers from Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party and the SDLP issued a joint request for an Executive meeting to be held on Sunday.
In a letter seen by PA news agency, Minister for Justice Naomi Long, Minister for Finance Conor Murphy and Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon raised concerns about the more infectious coronavirus variant found in England.
Coronavirus: Consider one-day Christmas bubbles, Northern Ireland urged
Naomi Long and Colum Eastwood have called for an urgent meeting of the Executive to discuss the escalating numbers of Covid-19 cases
10:42, 20 DEC 2020
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Northern Correspondent
An emergency meeting of the Stormont Executive to discuss implications of a new more aggressive variant of Covid-19 is taking place tonight.
Senior Executive Sources told RTÉ News that First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O Neill engaged in discussions with the British government to get answers to critical questions .
They are now convening a remote meeting of Executive ministers and their chief medical and scientific advisors.
No changes have been made to restrictions on family gatherings in Northern Ireland, but people have been urged to limit them to Christmas Day only.
This new more aggressive variant of Covid-19 has not yet been detected in the region, but health experts have said it is just a matter of time.
Thirteen deaths and 505 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Northern Ireland
The latest figures were confirmed by health officials this afternoon. By Lauren Boland Sunday 20 Dec 2020, 2:09 PM Dec 20th 2020, 2:09 PM 16,416 Views 11 Comments
Image: Maciek Grabowicz/Shutterstock
NORTHERN IRELAND HAS confirmed that a further 505 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19.
In its latest update this afternoon, Northern Ireland’s Department of Health reported that 13 more people have died with the virus.
In total, there have been 61,942 Covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland and 1,196 deaths since the first outbreak of the virus earlier this year.
The Department of Health #COVID19 dashboard has been updated with latest data.