Coronavirus: How Northern Ireland is easing lockdown restrictions - BBC Newsnight

Despite the fraught deadlock, power-sharing Stormont has been able to steer a clear path towards the resuming of contact tracing, ahead of the rest of the UK.

The move has been made possible by a fall in the rate of new coronavirus cases to fewer than 50 a day.

However many businesses say they have been left in the dark about the plan to end the lockdown.

Diplomatic Editor Mark Urban reports.

#Coronavirus #Newsnight #BBCNews

Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.

[kipdynamite]

Jesus BBC...could not be more one eyed. The reason NI rates are down is because they followed Dublin not London, not that difficult to see...but impossible for BBC to say

[adammk]

Ireland is one island, the virus does not respect man made borders. This is why NI has been more similar to ROI then “rest of uk”

[niallmccarter]

Why does the BBC have the ability to frame every report in NI in light of the troubles!! Incredibly patronising, the troubles ended over 20 years ago, stop treating us like we are a suffering

[compendioussuccient]

NI has come on so much in the last 15 years, it’s really becoming a great place to live

[katinss]

I'm so glad, northern Ireland did not follow British guidance on this one. They worked well with the Irish state and the crisis did not escalate in the same way it did in Britain.

[eamonnleyden]

Don’t tell anybody but we have a small population and lots of open spaces

[mrtwinky]

3:38 what that actually means is Northern Ireland is going to have a MASSIVE spike in new cases in about 2-3weeks time from now.

[gerardburke]

I'm Irish but living/working in Central Europe, going to use the US figures as an example:
''During the 2018-2019 season, the CDC estimates 16.5 million people went to a health care provider for the flu and more than 34, 000 people died in the U.S. The prior 2017-28 season saw 61, 000 deaths.'' 
So 100k deaths in US from Coronavirus are about the same as a bad flu season overall. The deaths from the Coronavirus are terrible but I wonder is there going to be the same meltdown about flu deaths at the end of the year? Coronavirus is going nowhere (just like the flu), only thing that can be done is to protect vulnerable groups and allow the economy to continue as safe a way as possible.

[gajos]

Does anybody knows when 14 day quarantine will be lifted in Northern

[-GameHacKeR-]

This is really bad for Northern Ireland -.-

[rgsnr]

if they wish to do things different than the rest of Britain why are you so hell bent on remaining part of the union

[dasarvy]

Sorry there is mistake in the end of report it says "pandemic" instead of "plandemic".

[mrtwinky]

Nope Sinn Féin isn't wanted here.

[eamonnsiocain]

It's long passed time for Britain to exit Ulster. #GetBrexitDone

[CrimsonVipera]

I understand the need for business but do you really want people from places overrun by the virus to flood in?

[strongerasone]

No, it's not about following the World Health Organisation advice Sinn Fein leader. They said everything was fine in China and clearly it wasn't. The WHO needs investigating, not following!

[jeongminyoun]

well.. it depends on how people perform. As health minister said. Because of we are in the middle of uncertainty era.

[English_class]

Watch on u tube....safe zone for safe people to save them from covid19