Despite their role in IRA funeral, Sinn Fein still seem to be setting an all island pace in restrictions around Covid-19

Shortly after Dublin said that pubs south of the border would have their reopening date pushed back to August 31, Northern Ireland has delayed its own plan to allow such reopening next week. Pubs here will not now reopen before the autumn.

Stormont is also enforcing compulsory face masks in shops from Monday, as they already are in the Republic.

There are two key problems with this latest clampdown.

The first is the sense that Stormont is lurching from one ultra cautious approach on restrictions to another. The number of infections in the Province is still very low.

There are small outbreaks in a number of places, which is worrying, but not a surprise. Even some nations around the world that seemed to have stopped Covid-19’s spread have been hit by small, or in some cases large, outbreaks.

Given that a return to full lockdown would not be accepted by the population, and for good reason, given the disastrous side effects of such restrictions, then we will have to learn to live with a degree of risk. MLAs are not explaining that to the public, while loftily citing the R number for their decisions.

The second key problem with clampdown is that there is always the suspicion that Sinn Fein is continuing its relentless demand for an all island approach to the pandemic.

The party lost all credibility after the disgraceful, and unrepentant, antics of its leaders at the Bobby Storey IRA funeral. The party got away with that entirely.

Even before then SF tried to tear up an agreed position on school closures in a bid to chime with the Republic, it stalled on Army help, Michelle O’Neill undermined her colleague Robin Swann, and SF refused any relaxation of rules until the Republic did the same. SF still seems to have the whip hand.

One glimmer of hope from yesterday is that schools are set to reopen in full in September. This must happen, even if Sinn Fein later decides that it shouldn’t.

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