Swann received 'unanimous support' to ease covid restrictions
Stormont ministers have given their "unanimous support" to health minister Robin Swann to ease Covid restrictions in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill has said.
Sinn Fein's Stormont leader said Mr Swann had a "big job ahead" of him, but said she expected an announcement imminently on the easing of restrictions.
Mr Swann, who has himself tested positive for Covid, was advised last week on the potential legal complications of him replacing Covid regulations with guidance, without the wider endorsement of an Executive.
He wrote to other ministers asking for their input and for them to respond by Monday.
The present Covid-19 regulations in Northern Ireland are not due to expire until March 24, but were previously reviewed by the Executive every three weeks.
But Northern Ireland has no functioning Executive after the DUP removed Paul Givan as first minister, as part of a protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Ms O'Neill said: "Firstly, let me wish our health minister well, he has obviously tested positive for Covid.
"He has a big job ahead of him and I am glad that there has been unanimous support for him to move forward in terms of the Covid restrictions.
"Backed up by the health advice that we are now in a space where hopefully we are able to see the easement of restrictions and a bit more of normality return.
"We will continue to work with the health minister in that regard."
She added: "I believe everybody has now responded to say that they are content that he proceeds, as per the health advice.
"So, I suspect that over the course of today or tomorrow Robin will bring forward those easements."
Mr Swann is continuing to work from home and is understood to be currently assessing all of the responses he received from ministers.
He is considering whether removing restrictions would cut across the responsibilities of any other ministers, and is expected to receive further legal guidance and public health assessments before reaching his decision.
Covid-19 timeline:
December 2019
The first case of Covid-19 was discovered in Wuhan, China and reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in December 2019.
January 2020
Chinese state media reported the first known death from Covid-19 on 11 January 2020. The city of Wuhan was closed off by Chinese authorities on 23 January 2020, cancelling all transport entering and leaving the city. In January, the WHO also declared Covid-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
February 2020
February was when the virus started to receive real global recognition. It was officially named Covid-19 by WHO, and countries around the world started to report cases and deaths. Italy reported Europe's first major outbreak and had to use tents to treat surging numbers of patients as hospitals ran out of room.
March 2020
UK Governments introduced a national lockdown from 23 March 2020, instructing people to "Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives", after the UK reported its first official death from Covid-19 on 2 March 2020. Cities around the country appeared deserted. In late March the United States became the worst hit country with the most reported cases at that point.
April 2020
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken into intensive care with Covid-19 on 6 April 2020. Worldwide, cases topped one million and deaths passed 200,000. April also saw the first peak of the virus in the UK.
June 2020
England and Scotland made face coverings mandatory on public transport in June, while Northern Ireland and Wales followed suit in July. Face coverings then became mandatory in shops in each nation, with Scotland and England introducing the rule in July, Northern Ireland in August and Wales in September.
September 2020
In September, the official global death toll reached 1 million. However, the official figures are thought to greatly understate the number of people who have actually died from Covid-19. In the US alone, Covid-19 deaths surpassed 200,000.
December 2020
The UK became the first country in the world to approve a vaccine against Covid-19 for use in December. Vaccinations began on 8 December 2020, when 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first person outside of a clinical trial to receive the jab. Later on in the month, the UK approved a second vaccine, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. However, it wasn't all good news, as a new variant of Covid-19 was also discovered in December, which was much more transmissible than the original strain.
January 2021
In January 2021, the mass vaccine roll out began across the UK. However, all four nations all went back into full lockdown as the UK entered a second wave of the virus, with the peak surpassing that of the first wave in April.
February 2021
At the height of the third lockdown, the first cases of the South African variant came to dominate diagnosed Covid cases in the UK.
March 2021
March saw the one-year anniversary since the first lockdown. Stormont ministers met to discuss the first stage of lockdown restrictions easing, including the return to schools and 'click and collect' for non-essential items
April 2021
Northern Ireland was given a list of dates for reopening...
23rd April - Hairdressers and beauty salons, outdoor attractions, driving lessons and outdoor sport
30th April - Non-essential retail, self-contained tourist accommodation, outdoor hospitality
May 2021
The 'stay local' messaged was removed on May 24th as well as indoor hospitality and indoor gyms. The need for quarantine when traveling within the UK and Ireland was removed also.
June 2021
In June, the Delta variant – first discovered in India – became the dominant strain of coronavirus and drove a third wave in infections across the UK.
The NI Vaccination programme was ramped up, which included opening the SSE Arena for walk-in first time slots.
July 2021
Live music given the green light from July 5th.
As Northern Ireland enters a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Health chiefs opened pop-up vaccination stations across Northern Ireland, including Custom House Square.
Department of Health launched a new COVIDCertNI app enabling users to show proof of vaccination for international travel.
August 2021
People who are close contacts of positive cases no longer had to isolate for 10 days, as long as they test negative and have had both jabs of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Northern Ireland recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since start of pandemic - 2,397 confirmed cases
September 2021
While the number of confirmed Covid cases worldwide surpassed 7 million, the UK was emerging from the pandemic. The furlough scheme, brought in at the beginning of the pandemic, was formally ended – funding £70 billion of people's wages.
From Friday 10th September indoor gatherings of up to 15 from 4 households was allowed, table service removed, dancing was permitted at weddings, restrictions on music levels lifted and ticket requirements revoked.
October 2021
Nightclubs in Northern Ireland were allowed to reopen on October 31st.
Social distancing was scrapped within the hospitality sector.
November 2021
Cases began to rise across the world as the newly named Omicron variant spread rapidly across the world. Flights were stopped to southern African nations including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
The Department of Health launched a new domestic use verification app, providing an easy way of checking NI Covid-19 vaccination 'domestic use' certificates.
December 2021
New restrictions came into place designed to suppress rising case numbers amid the spread of the Omicron variant. Working from home was advised, hospitality dropped back down to a max 6 people, LFD tests were taken before attending events.
January 2022
Lockdown restrictions brought in from Boxing day were eased on Jan 26th - including nightclubs reopening and the removal of table service.
There was a travel update too, fully vaccinated travellers arriving from non-red list countries into Northern Ireland no longer need to take a Covid-19 test or self-isolate.
February 2022
All remaining Covid-19 restrictions lifted across Northern Ireland on Tuesday 15th February 2022.
March 2022
Travellers are no longer required to take tests or complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) arriving into Northern Ireland.
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