TENSIONS between Northern Ireland's top doctor and politicians over stringent lockdown measures have surfaced almost a week after an almost identical rift was exposed in the Republic.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar's extraordinary attack on the National public health emergency team (Nphet) - who he said had not "thought through" a proposed level 5 shutdown - was all the more stinging given what many perceived was a "personalised" admonishment of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan.
The relationship between Dr Holohan's team and the Irish government up until this point in the pandemic had appeared solid, with any differences of opinion kept very much behind closed doors.
Similarly, the messaging from Stormont leaders has in recent months repeatedly deferred to the advice of the north's CMO Dr Michael McBride and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Ian Young.
In particular, First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster has given her full backing to Dr McBride even when major concerns were raised during the first wave over the north following Whitehall's disastrous decision to scrap community testing, with a u-turn subsequently performed.
However, serious cracks emerged yesterday following leaked CMO proposals for a six-week lockdown across the north that would also include schools (it has since emerged that a three to four week shutdown for schools is on the table).
Ms Foster, who along with Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill received a briefing paper from Dr McBride on Sunday evening warning that "decisive action" must be taken, released a social media video spelling out that another lockdown was "not inevitable".
Her party colleague and DUP stalwart Jeffrey Donaldson also took to the airwaves to castigate an all-out lockdown and called on health officials to release the data which supports a Northern Ireland wide move.
Meanwhile, the party's Education minister Peter Weir insisted schools should remain open.
Unsurprisingly, sources say the leak and criticism of senior officials by the north's biggest political party at a time of spiralling Covid cases have sparked outrage at the Department of Health.
The biggest fear is that public confidence will be eroded as the system battles a fierce second surge and winter pressures while firefighting red flag backlogs.
Fatigue among the population along with an exhausted and depleted NHS workforce - many are self-isolating - have heaped further pressure on decision makers.
The further suspension of planned operations in the north's biggest health trust, which were already "paused" during the first Covid wave six months ago, will be devastating for patients languishing on waiting lists.
While Sinn Féin was more cautious yesterday while clearly veering towards more widespread restrictions similar to the Republic, the previously hidden divisions between medical advisors and Stormont leaders have been blown wide open.
How that will impact on the weeks ahead remains to be seen but as the health service haemorrhages, the time for united leadership and coherent messaging has never been more important.
