Stormont Executive should look at other options before introducing local lockdowns

It is fair to say that, as yet, Northern Ireland has not suffered anywhere near as significantly from Covid-19 as other parts of the United Kingdom.

However, in a recent pattern also seen south of the border, new cases have been on the rise. Indeed, there have been 294 cases diagnosed in the last seven days, while earlier this week the Republic saw 190 new cases in a single 24-hour period.

A downbeat Health Minister Robin Swann painted a gloomy and overly pessimistic picture as he talked of possible future lockdowns during three successive days of media appearances, but as yet we have heard little from other members of the Executive who will be sitting around the table today.

Ministers would do well to pull back from the kind of damaging localised lockdowns that have taken place across parts of the UK. Only yesterday in Aberdeen, the co-leaders of the city council spoke out against Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to continue with the two-week lockdown imposed on the city’s population, warning that pubs, cafes and restaurants there are already on their knees.

If the Executive does decide on localised lockdowns (and that is by no means certain), the Mid and East Antrim council area seems to be in the firing line. However, as we reveal in today’s newspaper, businesses there are deeply fearful of renewed restrictions, given the grave loss in revenue they have already experienced.

Lockdowns according to whole council areas would make little sense anyway. For instance, if the big increase in cases is in, for example, Larne, how would it make sense to lock down somewhere like Ballymena which is over 20 miles away?

Renewing previous restrictions over different households gathering indoors would make more sense as a first step.