Northern Ireland is facing an "impending wave" of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the North's Minister for Health told the Stormont Assembly on Monday.
Robin Swann said “significantly increased” levels of infection were expected and it was possible the North’s hospitals would face acute hospital pressures “at least as bad” as witnessed during the peak in January.
Mr Swann was among a number of the North’s political leaders who issued warnings on Monday about the Omicron variant and encouraged people to come forward for a booster vaccination jab to increase their protection against the virus.
The First Minister, Paul Givan, said there was a “storm coming our way” while the Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, said the North would be “overwhelmed” by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 “very, very soon”.
On Monday there were 10 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in the North, but the minister warned that “as the virus takes a hold on these islands the number of local cases will increase rapidly” and therefore “every possible tool” must be considered to slow its spread.
The deaths of a further four people with Covid-19 were reported by the Northern Ireland Department of Health on Monday, as well as 1,431 new cases of the virus.
The booster jab programme has been expanded to anyone aged 30 and over who had their second dose at least three months ago, with walk-in injections available to everyone in that category at Health Trust vaccination hubs.
Speaking in the Stormont Assembly during Executive Office questions, Ms O’Neill criticised the DUP as “absolutely out of kilter with the rest of the Assembly who are behind the public health message” and called for a united front in combating the virus.
The DUP is opposed to the introduction of a Covid certification scheme for some hospitality venues, which was debated in the Assembly on Monday.
‘Unrealistic’
Enforcement of the scheme – which was introduced two weeks ago – began on Monday. The Minister for Justice, Naomi Long, said the scheme would be policed by the PSNI, but this was criticised as “unrealistic and impracticable” by the Police Federation NI, which represents rank and file police officers.
The certification scheme was approved after it was backed by the four other Executive parties – Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Alliance and the UUP – but has been publicly criticised by the DUP, which claims the scientific evidence for certification is unconvincing.
The hospitality industry has also raised concerns about the impact of implementing the scheme, with industry body Hospitality Ulster saying on Monday that their businesses had been made the “sacrificial lamb” and calling for a financial support scheme.
Opening the debate on the regulations on Monday afternoon, the minister for health outlined the scientific basis for the scheme and said there was “clear evidence” it would both help reduce the spread of the virus and help keep businesses open.
‘Lack of evidence’
DUP MLA Pam Cameron said her party would oppose the scheme but this was not through an “unwillingness to recognise the fight against this Covid-19 pandemic.
“Instead, my opposition to this is largely based on the lack of evidence that this is effective, the significant negative impact it is having on sections of our economy with no evidence of it being effective and indeed how this has been handled causing confusion and mixed messaging,” she said.
The SDLP deputy leader, Nichola Mallon, accused the DUP of “choosing not to accept it for ideological reasons” and said that “to couple that with no alternative plan from the DUP is not only reprehensive, it is downright irresponsible.”
The debate on the Covid certification scheme was suspended after 9pm on Monday after the Speaker, Alex Maskey, said the sitting could not be extended further without the risk of breaching their own rules.
It will sit at a later date when the minister for health will wind up the debate and MLAs will vote.
Earlier a number of DUP Assembly members met with protestors opposed to the scheme outside Parliament Buildings at Stormont.
The former Minister for the Economy, Paul Frew, suggested the scheme could be stopped though legal challenge. – Additional reporting PA
