HOSPITALITY bosses are demanding ministers ease restrictions amid fears for their workers as the furlough scheme ends.
Together with trade and business chiefs, they are calling for an urgent summit to help protect livelihoods.
While the focus is now on getting people back to work, there are still no dates for lifting restrictions that have shuttered nightclubs and severely limited capacity of bars and restaurants.
The plea came as Health Minister Robin Swann was warned by police of a threat against him.
Mr Swann has had to review his security arrangements following the latest threat.
Details emerged shortly after the minister told Stormont's health committee that staff involved in the vaccination programme have also been targeted with threats of violence.
Irish passport holders, meanwhile, who live in and were vaccinated in the north can now access the EU Digital Covid Certificate.
The vaccine passport, which allows international travel, came into effect in the Republic in the summer.
The impact that the ending of furlough will have on workers remains unclear.
At the end of July, there were just more than 36,000 people in Northern Ireland in the scheme.
Finance Minister Conor Murphy had sought an extension saying he was concerned that closing it at this stage could lead to large scale redundancies.
With some sectors still without a date for full reopening, there have been fresh warnings that staff and businesses are at risk without a "clear consensus" from the executive on moving forward.
The chief executives of Hospitality Ulster, Manufacturing NI, and Retail NI said ministers must now provide decisive action for firms and staff facing an uncertain future.
"We need a clear consensus between the executive and business for a timeline to the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions," the groups said.
"Our members are looking at the rest of UK and Ireland and asking why they are still having to live with restrictions and why no timeline to lift them is in place for Northern Ireland.
"What does the government expect will happen to the livelihoods and future prospects of the business owners and the staff? This is a critical moment for the many venues across Northern Ireland and it now requires emergency intervention by the executive."
