Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland unlikely to face another lockdown

Chief Medical Officer Sir Michael McBride
Chief Medical Officer Sir Michael McBride Chief Medical Officer Sir Michael McBride

CHIEF Medical Officer (CMO) Sir Michael McBride has said he does not think the north is facing another lockdown.

However, Sir Michael warned that Northern Ireland was facing a very serious situation and some further restrictions on certain settings may be required if efforts to suppress the current wave fail.

He said the vaccination programme meant a lockdown was less likely.

"I do not think that we will go back to the damaging impact of lockdowns, however we may need to consider our wider restrictions in certain environments and sectors where we know the risks are higher," he said.

"If we don't act now and if we don't act decisively, unfortunately we may well be back advising the executive that further interventions are needed to prevent our health service being overwhelmed."

Sir Michael said the easing of restrictions in the hospitality sector at the end of October had led to a "very significant uptick in cases".

Chief scientific adviser, Professor Ian Young, said there is a "menu of measures" that are known to be effective that can be recommended to ministers in mid-December if the situation deteriorates.

He indicated those would include restrictions or closures in some sectors, but that closing retail would be unlikely.

"We're seeing a strong upward trajectory of cases in Northern Ireland and that's a pattern that we're seeing in the Republic of Ireland and also in many countries across western Europe as we move into the winter," he told the Nolan Show.

"In about three to four weeks' time if we don't take any action then it looks as if the hospitals would be at risk of being overwhelmed.

"We're still not at the levels of Covid that we saw last winter... the hospitals have contingency plans in place and those plans are being activated but if the Covid numbers rise more significantly then even those plans may not be sufficient."

Asked about the Department of Health proposal to strengthen working from home guidance, Sir Michael said evidence indicated that was potentially "one of the single most effective interventions".

The CMO also stressed the virus was unpredictable, and while officials could model scenarios, much depended on whether the public follow health guidelines.

"The next couple of weeks are going to be very, very challenging," he added.

"No one should be in any doubt whatsoever about the urgency and seriousness of the situation we are currently now facing into, with the 23 per cent increase in cases in the last week and a 19 per cent increase in hospital admissions with Covid."