Executive Continue To Relax Restrictions

The Delta variant now accounts for 75% of Covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland, it has been reported in an update on the epidemic delivered to the NI Executive.

Following the update, the Executive has confirmed a number of changes to the remaining restrictions, focusing mainly on relaxations in the outdoors environment, which they say are known to be associated with lower risk.

The Executive has decided that from 02 July, the cap on outdoor gatherings will be removed and the maximum number permitted will be determined by the risk assessment carried out for the venue.

From 05 July all gatherings, indoors and outdoors (not including domestic settings) will now only be subject to a risk assessment if they have more than 15 participants for indoors, or more than 30 participants for outdoors.

Live music will be permitted at licensed and unlicensed hospitality businesses that sell or provide food and/or drink for consumption on the premises. This will be at ambient level only to allow conversation at normal levels and with suitable mitigations in place, such as screens.

Music will be permitted at outdoor events with no restriction on volume.

The number of households permitted to meet outdoors at private dwellings will be increased from three to five, with the maximum number of people remaining at 15, including children.

The Executive has also approved a restart of overnight residential stays for children and young people across all sectors.

The Executive statement continued: "We are carrying out a review of the current position on our Pathway out of Restrictions and at next week's Executive meeting we will consider the sequencing of further relaxations and the process by which we hope to move forward over the summer, in line with the most up-to-date data.

"We continue to ask that everyone comes forward to receive their vaccine as soon as possible and please keep both appointments. We urge employers to facilitate workers getting their vaccines."