"WE are following the science" was one of the most repeated phrases at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as governments and public health officials sought to explain the extraordinary actions they required of the public to slow the spread of Covid-19.

It is a matter of profound regret that only three short months after suppressing the virus and seeing cases dwindle to just a few a day, we are again seeing severe restrictions being imposed to tackle spiralling infection levels.

The stark choices facing the executive were outlined by the health minister Robin Swann yesterday, who presented a paper warning that Covid-19 infection rates will keep rising if both schools and the hospitality sector remain open.

As the Stormont executive prepares to make one of the most significant decisions of the current health emergency, a divergence in approach has become all too apparent which may have far-reaching consequences for us all.

Very few people will agree with the claim by convicted loyalist murderer Garfield Beattie that his decision to send a letter to the daughter of one of his victims in the name of the East Tyrone UVF was a `black joke'.

BREXIT negotiations reach a crucial and possibly decisive phase next week, with Thursday being prime minister Boris Johnson's deadline for a trade deal between Britain and the European Union.

NOTHING in the past 24 hours has eased the coronavirus storm clouds gathering over Northern Ireland, where infection rates continue to heavily overshadow those recorded in the Republic and Britain.

Even while we are all engaged in a fight against the deadly threat of the coronavirus, with the focus on saving lives, there remains a tiny minority of violent individuals who are intent on doing the absolute opposite.

With spiralling infection rates and increasing hospital admissions, it is clear we are now experiencing the anticipated second wave of the pandemic with the full force of the winter flu season still to hit.

It is abundantly clear that the level of coronavirus infection is escalating faster than anticipated on both sides of the border, with the north's figures in recent days proving especially alarming.

The USPCA knows that after every Christmas they are going to be faced with providing care for a significant number of pets which had been bought during and for the festive period but then abandoned not long into the New Year.

THE Stormont executive's introduction of tougher restrictions in Derry and Strabane is an inevitable response to that area's soaring coronavirus rate.

BORIS Johnson's ill-advised Internal Market Bill was bound to draw a firm response from Brussels; its cavalier willingness to set aside commitments the British government made when it reached a Brexit withdrawal deal with the European Union could demand nothing less.

Presidential debates are landmark political events in the United States, a set-piece opportunity for the two people vying for the top office in the land to go head to head in a bid to sway voters.

More than one million people worldwide have now died of coronavirus, a grim milestone that has been reached in a nine month period which has had a devastating impact on every part of the globe.

Going to university is a rite of passage for thousands of young people, something they devote years of study to achieving and when they attain the necessary exam requirements, set off with hopes and dreams of a positive and enriching experience.

When elected representatives and other commentators offer their views on sporting bodies in a divided society, it is reasonable to expect that their contributions should be measured and kept in a proper context.

PARALLEL with the coronavirus's public health implications have been its enormous economic impact.

ONE need not revisit every jot and tittle of the inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to be reminded that politicians and their advisers were not the only figures to face criticism.

In a press briefing yesterday, health minister Robin Swann rightly highlighted the gravity of the coronavirus outbreaks at Craigavon Area Hospital and Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry which have claimed the lives of eleven patients.