The Covid-19 pandemic is still a risk to people in Northern Ireland but even so it is right to re-open business today

Businesses including restaurants and non essential shops open today.

The number of infections in Covid-19 is not as low as we might want it to be.

But then infection levels have fluctuated wildly across these islands.

Only weeks ago Northern Ireland was the worst place in the British Isles, yet earlier in the summer we had been doing better than the Republic.

In the mid autumn parts of northern England were worst hit, now it is Wales.

At the start of lockdown in March it was London.

There is still a theory that the capital has never been so badly hit since because it was so affected then, and thus many people got their infection early.

There is still a lot to learn about this pandemic. It is still far from clear what the best approach has been.

But we do now have a vast body of data as to who is and is not at risk. People under the age of 20 are barely at any risk at all. People under the age of 40 are at minimal risk.

People under the age of 60 are still at minimal risk unless they are obese or have other underlying health conditions.

It is over the age of 60 that the risk begins to rise and only over the age of 75 it becomes very serious. And even over the age of 80 the great bulk of people survive.

The question then is whether or not it is right to trash the economy and cause so much damage to other health conditions. Again, no clear answer to this will emerge until we have statistics relating to every part of life and from around the world and that will be years.

So we cannot wait for a perfect approach. It is Christmas after a traumatic year, and the population has earned some goodwill. The vaccine is now being applied.

It is right to open things up and continue to urge people to behave responsibly and to social distance.

People in at risk categories are still greatly at risk.

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