Face mask rules to stay as Covid spike ‘concerning’

Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, has said there is no end date yet for the mandatory wearing of face coverings in public places in the North, despite the fact England will remove the legal obligation to do so from Monday.

This comes as Health Minister Robin Swann described the latest spike in Covid 19 cases across the North as ‘concerning’.

Face masks have been mandatory in many public places in the North since the beginning of the pandemic, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future, according to Ms O’Neill.

Speaking to the UH while attending a GAA summer camp at Drumragh Sarsfields GAA grounds in Clanabogan, outside Omagh, the Deputy First Minister admitted that people are tired of the restrictions but some were still necessary to protect us against Covid-19.

“I certainly don’t agree with the Boris Johnson approach. I think we’re all Covid fatigued; we’re all tired of restrictions in our lives, however it has been necessary during this pandemic,” she said.

“In terms of the face covering issue here, we take our own advice and make our own decisions. We are going to discuss it at the Executive on August 12, but I don’t see an end date at this stage and I couldn’t even predict an end date in terms of the mandatory wearing of face coverings.

“For now we’re still asking people to abide by the regulations and actually wear the face coverings. This virus is spreading at an alarming rate, we’re back to very strong numbers of positive cases.

“We still don’t know the link between that and hospitalisations but that will become clearer in the coming weeks and that will help us to decide next steps but for now face coverings are going to remain.”

CAUSE FOR CONCERN

Meanwhile, the Department of Health today reported 1,083 new cases in the past 24 hours with the number of people testing positive over the past seven days now at 4,437.

Health Minister Robin Swann said: “We have seen the numbers climb in recent weeks but today’s spike in cases is cause for concern. This is the first time since January that we’re reporting a daily change of over 1,000 positive cases, and while we are in a more fortunate position with a large proportion of the population now vaccinated we must remain cautious.”

“We need everyone to play their part in helping to stop the spread of the virus. Our advice remains the same – stick to guidelines and regulations, all adults aged 18 and over should get vaccinated, and ensure you and your close contacts self-isolate if you test positive.”

WATCH: Deputy First Minister says virus is spreading at an ‘alarming rate’ and sees no end date in sight for mandatory face coverings