Coronavirus: Northern Ireland to allow groups of six people to meet outdoors in further easing of lockdown

Stormont announces raft of new freedoms in further blow to hopes for ‘four nations’ response

People in Northern Ireland will be allowed to gather outdoors in groups of six people, Stormont has said (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Northern Ireland will allow groups of up to six people to meet outdoors from Tuesday, Arlene Foster has said, in a further easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

In a further blow to those hoping for a co-ordinated four nations approach, Stormont unveiled a raft of new freedoms as the first step of the country’s recovery plan.

Churches are now allowed to open for private prayer and can hold drive-through services so long as worshippers remain in their cars.

Cinemas, concerts and live theatre performances will also be permitted in a drive-through format, and some sports such as golf and tennis can resume – so long as people continue to practice social distancing.

It is still forbidden to visit immediate family indoors, despite this being included in step one of the country’s recovery plan, prompting deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill to implore residents to “bear with us”.

Ms Foster added: “We would have liked to unlock the whole of step one but, quite simply, the reason why we haven’t been able to move to indoor family gatherings is because of the medical advice.”

“The relaxations we’ve announced have been made made possible by the vast majority of you following advice.

“They have been hard-won freedoms and it’s vital when you exercise them, it doesn’t put anyone else’s safety at risk.”

Asked about the divergence between nations’ responses at Monday’s Downing Street briefing by the North Wales Daily Post, England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said: “We have to recognise the right of different parts of the UK to make their own decisions.

“What I would be far more worried about is if there was a separate stream of science driving decisions in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland from England. But Sage absolutely is a committee that advises the whole of the nation in that sense.”

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab insisted that "we’ve actually had a UK-wide approach", adding: "Equally we’ve recognised that, given the devolved competences and the level of coronavirus in different parts of the UK, there may be different speeds at which the different nations proceed, or even at regional level."

Northern Ireland's official coronavirus death toll currently sits at 482, with fewer than 5,000 confirmed cases.

However a report from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency found that, by 8 May, there had been 599 fatalities where the death certificate mentioned Covid-19.