DUP MP Sammy Wilson has claimed that the public are "still afraid to go outside" after being terorrised into following Covid-19 rules in Northern Ireland.
Mr Wilson has also said while other parts of the UK were re-opening significant parts of their economy, the north was "still living in the winter of economic and social deprivation".
The Executive is due to meet on Thursday, when it is expected ministers will discuss the re-opening dates of non-essential retail and close contact services like hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons.
The East Antrim representative today questioned the influence of the medical profession on the approach to the coronavirus pandemic. He said he believed the pandemic response had been driven by medical opinion for "far, far too long".
"I want to see a move away from this one dimensional approach which there has been so far where only the medical matters have been considered," he told BBC Radio Ulster.
"People do need to be able to run their businesses, people need some social freedoms and for far, far too long we have been driven by only the medical opinions.
"I hope when the Executive meets this week is look at the country as a whole and what needs to be done to get the businesses back up and running."
Mr Wilson also said he believed the pandemic had taken its toll on people's mental health.
"Children being scared witless, thinking that when they go back to school they are going to die," he said.
"People are still afraid to go outside because terror was almost imbibed in them to keep them in line - that's done immense damage," he added.
