Sam McBride: The worst time for an orange-green split over coronavirus response

Neither the DUP nor Sinn Fein chose it – despite health taking half Stormont’s budget, and even at that point being in a critically damaged situation.

Now that health system, battered by everything from the failure to pass unpopular reforms years ago to the three-year absence of any ministerial direction since January 2017, faces what may be a once in a century health disaster.

Initially, it appeared that such a sobering situation had caused all Stormont’s parties to put aside their differences and work jointly on addressing the pandemic.

But within 24 hours of a joint Executive approach being agreed last Thursday, that show of unity was abandoned by Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill who announced that schools should be shut immediately, as had happened in the Republic.

Over the weekend, Sinn Fein’s chief whip hysterically said that “this shire of b******s are using everyone of us in some form of twisted medical experiment ... it’s time to get angry, we are on the brink of disaster!”

On Monday, the Executive released a statement which again attempted to present a united front. Half an hour later, Ms O’Neill again released her own statement, calling for schools to be shut immediately and attacking the British approach.

When dealing with matters of such gravity – and when well-intentioned experts are not all in agreement about the best way to save lives – it is understandable that there are disagreements.

But just two months after the New Decade, New Approach deal set out how its new Party Leaders’ Forum was meant to “operate as a safe space for party leaders to discuss ... any issues which might cause future political tension and disagreements”, it is clear that this Executive is critically divided along orange and green lines – and at the worst possible time.