Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
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Restrictions November 13 O’neill insists circuit breaker will ‘be reviewed’ Two 396
in cases in the past seven days with 1,141, followed by Mid Ulster with 662 and Derry City and Strabane with 534.
Mid Ulster has the highest infection rate per 100,000 people at 448.8, followed by Derry City and Strabane at 354.4 and Belfast at 334.4. Those aged 20 to 39 have seen the largest increase in positive cases with 1,764.
The 40 to 59 age group have contracted 1,652 infections. There are currently 361 inpatients in hospital infected with Covid-19 and 48 of these are in intensive care and 41 are using ventilators.
Meanwhile, hopes for a traditional family Christmas in England faded fast yesterday as a senior minister said the second lockdown could extend beyond December.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove confessed the “time-limited” four-week shutdown could last for longer if the evidence didn’t show coronavirus was under control . He added it would be “foolish” to predict what would happen with the pandemic over the next four weeks.
It came as the UK’S coronavirus hospital death toll rose by 167, the largest increase on a Sunday since 77 deaths were announced on June 7.
Mr Gove raised the spectre of a gloomy December with pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops closed if the R rate does not fall enough, despite the closure being designed to help save the festive period.
And he refused to rule out plunging England into third or fourth national lockdowns next year.
Mr Gove’s bleak outlook was echoed by ex-chief Scientific Advisor Sir Mark Walport.
He said: “The virus is sublimely indifferent as to what day of the week it is and indeed whether it is Christmas or any other festivals, so it does seem a bit unlikely that it’s going to be a completely no rma rm a l
Christmas, that’s f or sure.” The warning came as scientists and politicians raised the prospects of closing schools to get control of Covid despite the Government and Labour insisting they must stay open. Labour leader Keir Starmer, who called for the lockdown to begin two weeks ago and take in half-term, said it must remain in place until it has enough of an effect – even if that’s longer than four weeks. He added: “We need to stay in the lockdown until the infection rate [R] is below 1.”