CHURCHES could be closed as lockdown restrictions get tougher, Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd has said.
Under restrictions in Scotland, churches have been closed and congregations can only meet online.
Under Northern Ireland's present six-week lockdown, places of worship can remain open subject to "strict conditions" and church-goers must wear masks.
When asked if the same measures should be introduced in the north, Mr O'Dowd told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback: "I think all measures should be taken to protect public health, including that one if necessary."
With a sharp rise in coronavirus cases across the north, Mr O'Dowd said health minister Robin Swann must bring forward proposals on what measures need to be taken "and those include uncomfortable decisions around churches and other places".
The former education minister added: "We have stopped our children from going to school.
"It can't get much worse than that.
"So what we have to do is take all measures possible to protect our society with the objective of getting our schools reopened in a safe manner... We are in a desperately dangerous scenario and ministers, including the health minister and education minister may have to take decisions which they find deeply uncomfortable, but they're going to have to do it."
