Easing of restrictions in Northern Ireland

The Belfast Telegraph reports that a two-phase lifting of restrictions in Northern Ireland over the coming week is under consideration, as follows:

The easing has now been agreed, with the only changes being that the easings take place at 12 noon rather than midnight; and the legal limit of 30 people at a household gathering will remain law rather than becoming guidance

Effective immediately (from midnight tonight 12 noon tomorrow):

• Self isolation after testing positive is cut to five full days, subject to negative lateral flow tests on days five and six (announced yesterday)
• The requirement to prove exemption from wearing a face covering is formally removed, and exemption is once again available where wearing a face covering causes "severe distress" (enforcement of this never began)
• Table service and the rule of six are no longer required in the hospitality sector
• Guidance to limit gatherings in private households to three households will be lifted, and the legal limit of 30 people at a gathering in a private household will become guidance

Effective from 12 noon on Wednesday, 26th January:

• Nightclubs reopen
• The prohibition on dancing and standing at events ends
• Vaccine passports cease to be mandatory other than in nightclubs and unseated/partially seated indoor events with more than 500 attendees, but their use will still be recommended in all situations where they are currently mandatory
• Two metre social distancing is no longer mandatory in offices

The Stormont Executive is considering the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in two phases, it’s been reported.

According to the PA news agency, the first measures would change this week and the rest next week.

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danm14 said:

The Belfast Telegraph reports that a two-phase lifting of restrictions in Northern Ireland over the coming week is under consideration, as follows:

The easing has now been agreed, with the only changes being that the easings take place at 12 noon rather than midnight; and the legal limit of 30 people at a household gathering will remain law rather than becoming guidance

Effective immediately (from midnight tonight 12 noon tomorrow):

• Self isolation after testing positive is cut to five full days, subject to negative lateral flow tests on days five and six (announced yesterday)
• The requirement to prove exemption from wearing a face covering is formally removed, and exemption is once again available where wearing a face covering causes "severe distress" (enforcement of this never began)
• Table service and the rule of six are no longer required in the hospitality sector
• Guidance to limit gatherings in private households to three households will be lifted, and the legal limit of 30 people at a gathering in a private household will become guidance

Effective from 12 noon on Wednesday, 26th January:

• Nightclubs reopen
• The prohibition on dancing and standing at events ends
• Vaccine passports cease to be mandatory other than in nightclubs and unseated/partially seated indoor events with more than 500 attendees, but their use will still be recommended in all situations where they are currently mandatory
• Two metre social distancing is no longer mandatory in offices

NI Covid restrictions: Nightclubs to reopen from Wednesday, table service to be removed and changes to vaccine passport rules

Nightclubs in Northern Ireland are to be given the green light to reopen from Wednesday, January 26, while table service and the rule of six are to be removed from hospitality venues, First Minister Paul Givan has confirmed.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

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Yayyy!!!! Hopefully masks next.

danm14 said:

[*]The requirement to prove exemption from wearing a face covering is formally removed, and exemption is once again available where wearing a face covering causes "severe distress" (enforcement of this never began)

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Obviously very welcome - but there does seem to be an underlying story here. I do wonder why this appalling change was passed in the first place, and equally why did they very quickly revert away from it again?

[*]Vaccine passports cease to be mandatory other than in nightclubs and unseated/partially seated indoor events with more than 500 attendees, but their use will still be recommended in all situations where they are currently mandatory

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Hopefully we will immediately see places such as cinemas dropping them.

MikeWM said:

Obviously very welcome - but there does seem to be an underlying story here. I do wonder why this appalling change was passed in the first place, and equally why did they very quickly revert away from it again?

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It was introduced because an absolutely massive number of people were claiming to be exempt from wearing a face covering. I can honestly say that compliance with mask wearing on daytime buses and trains in Belfast in October was regularly lower than it was on nighttime Underground services in London in August. I could perceive no major difference in compliance by gender or age; nor by the affluence/religion of the area the bus served.

A number of articles were published in the media in November/December rubbishing the idea that someone could be exempt from wearing a face covering; and the Chief Medical Officer encouraged the public in an interview on the radio to publicly challenge those who weren't wearing a face covering. This had some impact on compliance, but not a huge amount - and it's unclear how much was actually related to genuine fear of Omicron.

The requirement to prove exemption and the removal of the "severe distress" exemption was introduced in an attempt to achieve universal compliance, as very few people would fit the criteria and those who did wouldn't be able to prove it anyway.

It failed because many businesses made their intention to refuse to enforce it known (although some were rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of being able to), doctors refused to play any part in certifying exemptions. The downfall was aided by various articles in the media from rape crisis centres, explaining that victims of sexual assault who could not wear masks were to be effectively locked down indefinitely as even if they could "prove their rape" this was insufficient to be exempt unless it had such a severe impact on someone's normal life outside of mask wearing to be considered a disability.

Naomi Long, Justice Minister, stating that Police and enforcement officers would not actually check proof of medical exemptions - and would automatically issue fixed penalty notices which would have to be fought in court probably helped too.

Although personally I think the intention was never to enforce it, but instead to out people who claimed to be exempt to their communities as "able but not willing to wear a face covering" so that they couldn't claim exemption in future

danm14 said:

It was introduced because an absolutely massive number of people were claiming to be exempt from wearing a face covering. I can honestly say that compliance with mask wearing on daytime buses and trains in Belfast in October was regularly lower than it was on nighttime Underground services in London in August. I could perceive no major difference in compliance by gender or age; nor by the affluence/religion of the area the bus served.

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Very interesting, many thanks for the explanation and analysis

I'm particularly pleased to hear that at least part of the reason they've backtracked is likely to be due to people and organisations pushing back.

MikeWM said:

Very interesting, many thanks for the explanation and analysis

I'm particularly pleased to hear that at least part of the reason they've backtracked is likely to be due to people and organisations pushing back.

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I must say that it was hilarious to see Translink's (Ulsterbus/NI Railways/Metro) messaging on face coverings on social media change over the space of three days as the house of cards collapsed, complete with an increasing number of "laugh" reactions and sarcastic comments under each post.

27th December - 4th January (penal enforcement had not commenced, but businesses were still required to take all reasonable steps to enforce):

5th January (businesses were directed to cease enforcement temporarily):

6th January (the policy was indefinitely suspended, prior to being dropped entirely today):

Northern Ireland has announced that the removal of all domestic restrictions will take place at some stage tomorrow. Presumably this will formally take place from midnight tomorrow night.

As Northern Ireland has no legal requirement for self-isolation, it will be the least restricted part of the UK.

All remaining Covid-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland will be lifted, Health Minister Robin Swann has announced.

A small number of restrictions are currently in place, including the wearing of face coverings and the use of Covid certification in nightclubs.

Mr Swann said those remaining measures "should no longer be set out in regulations" and instead will be put in guidance issued to the public.

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danm14 said:

Northern Ireland has announced that the removal of all domestic restrictions will take place at some stage tomorrow. Presumably this will formally take place from midnight tomorrow night.

As Northern Ireland has no legal requirement for self-isolation, it will be the least restricted part of the UK.

Covid-19: Northern Ireland to remove all remaining restrictions

The regulations that are currently in place will become guidance, Health Minister Robin Swann says.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Most in N Ireland thought the isolation was a legal requirement, myself included!

102 fan said:

Most in N Ireland thought the isolation was a legal requirement, myself included!

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Self isolation following a positive test or as a close contact has only ever been legally required in England and Wales. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the Republic of Ireland, it has always been guidance - albeit misrepresented as law - with one exception, as follows:

• In Scotland and Northern Ireland, a legal obligation to self isolate following a positive test existed where the test in question was one of the legally required tests following international travel.
• In the Republic of Ireland, no legal obligation existed to self-isolate following any positive test

Any requirement to self isolate related to travel has always been legally enforceable in all four UK jurisdictions, as well as the Republic of Ireland, with the following exceptions:

So they're effectively lying on their webpage?

'You must self-isolate if:

you have symptoms of Coronavirus (you can end isolation after a negative PCR result)you have tested positive for Coronavirus (10 days isolation with potential to release early from day 6 – see below)you’re a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and you are not fully vaccinated

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, you should begin self-isolating and book a PCR test. These are available for free.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing

You should continue to isolate until the result of the test is available.'

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102 fan said:

So they're effectively lying on their webpage?

'You must self-isolate if:

you have symptoms of Coronavirus (you can end isolation after a negative PCR result)you have tested positive for Coronavirus (10 days isolation with potential to release early from day 6 – see below)you’re a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and you are not fully vaccinated

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, you should begin self-isolating and book a PCR test. These are available for free.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing

You should continue to isolate until the result of the test is available.'

Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing and stay at home advice

Find out who is eligible for COVID-19 tests, how to access tests and what to do if your result is positive.

www.nidirect.gov.uk

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Yes and no.

They intentionally use the term "must" - knowing that almost everyone associates "must" with a legal obligation and "should" with a recommendation - but they never state that there is a legal obligation or any penalty for failure to do so. I do agree that it is designed to misrepresent the guidance as law, but they do not explicitly state that it is law.

In fact today, Robin Swann, the Health Minister, made what I believe is the first explicit official admission in Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland that self-isolation is not a legal requirement, in an attempt to justify removing the remaining regulations and replacing them with guidance. Normally weasel words are used to imply that it is a legal requirement without directly stating that it is so.

"A large part of what we currently do to protect ourselves is already covered by guidance rather than regulations. This includes self-isolating when infected..." -Robin Swann 14/02/2022

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Update 15/2: Utterly disheartened to report that despite the removal of mandatory face coverings today, the proportion of people wearing them is without question the highest it has been in at least nine months (i.e. since before England made them optional the first time).

Translink, Enterprise, and NI Railways continue to incorrectly tweet GIFs suggesting you "must wear a face covering".

island said:

Translink, Enterprise, and NI Railways continue to incorrectly tweet GIFs suggesting you "must wear a face covering".

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I have now seen the animation that you are referring to - I was thinking of the large "You MUST wear a face covering" posts when I posted the below. I would expect it is an oversight and have contacted Translink about it.

Translink have replied and confirmed that face coverings are now recommended but no longer mandatory and that they are awaiting new graphics to reflect this.

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Translink last tweeted this on Monday evening, and it appears to have been an unfortunately timed scheduled tweet that went out at exactly the same time as the announcement of the easing of restrictions was made (5pm).

Translink no longer requires face coverings to be worn, although they are advised. Posters stating that face coverings must be worn are currently being removed from vehicles and stations.

Face coverings remain mandatory under Irish legislation and therefore remain mandatory on Enterprise and cross-border Ulsterbus services once the vehicle enters the Republic of Ireland. I would expect that in practice this will only be enforced on Enterprise trains staffed by Irish Rail (who will in all likelihood enforce a non-existant requirement in Northern Ireland too), and not on Ulsterbus services or Enterprise trains staffed by NI Railways.

danm14 said:

Update 15/2: Utterly disheartened to report that despite the removal of mandatory face coverings today, the proportion of people wearing them is without question the highest it has been in at least nine months (i.e. since before England made them optional the first time).

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I wouldn't worry about it. They will gradually die away. I was out and about last week and the number of masks had already reduced compared with early the previous week. As more people stop wearing them, the rest will stop too, apart from a few die hards.

Are they trying to outdo LNER in a competition to see who can be the most pompous, condescending and disrespectful towards their customers?

Bikeman78 said:

I wouldn't worry about it. They will gradually die away. I was out and about last week and the number of masks had already reduced compared with early the previous week. As more people stop wearing them, the rest will stop too, apart from a few die hards.

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Agreed

We are now roughly a month into the lifting of mandatory masks in Northern Ireland, and a fortnight into the same in the Republic of Ireland.

Little has changed in Northern Ireland - most of those who wore masks when they were mandatory are still doing so. The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, has seen a massive drop.

Translink (Ulsterbus/NI Railways) have dropped almost all messaging relating to masks, other than a couple of posters on less than 50% of vehicles advising people to wear them "if they can" and the odd sign that's been missed from when they were mandatory. All audio announcements are gone from vehicles with these fitted.

danm14 said:

We are now roughly a month into the lifting of mandatory masks in Northern Ireland, and a fortnight into the same in the Republic of Ireland.

Little has changed in Northern Ireland - most of those who wore masks when they were mandatory are still doing so. The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, has seen a massive drop.

Translink (Ulsterbus/NI Railways) have dropped almost all messaging relating to masks, other than a couple of posters on less than 50% of vehicles advising people to wear them "if they can" and the odd sign that's been missed from when they were mandatory. All audio announcements are gone from vehicles with these fitted.

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I wouldn't worry.

People will just ditch them until you're left with those who genuinely choose to wear them, by which point let them get in with it.

I went to Belfast for a couple of days just over a week ago and it was pretty relaxed TBH, majority of people wearing masks on buses but not much elsewhere. Customers not wearing them in food outlets at all.

It was only strictly mandated on the aer lingus flight from Edinburgh to Belfast City airport and at Belfast City Airport.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has voted 54-27 to extend all emergency powers by a further six months. Instead of ending on Thursday as planned, they will now remain in force until September 24th.

danm14 said:

The Northern Ireland Assembly has voted 54-27 to extend all emergency powers by a further six months. Instead of ending on Thursday as planned, they will now remain in force until September 24th.

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By which time winter will be coming...