Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew has said that all steps must be taken to protect people in the north from the potential spread of COVID-19 from Britain. 

The Sinn Féin health spokesperson said: 

“The chief medical and scientific advisers to the Executive have advised that people travelling from Britain to the north present the greatest risk of spreading COVID-19. 

“To date, the rate of the extent of COVID-19 and, tragically, the death toll from it has been much higher in Britain than here in the north as a result of the early and stringent steps taken by the Executive to ensure the safety of the public. 

“There is no doubt we are now in a better place than we were at the height of the pandemic, due to the heroic actions of our health and key workers and the wider public, and we cannot jeopardise that now. 

“The Executive is due to discuss this when it meets tomorrow but, as has been the approach taken to date, all decisions must be made on the basis of what is best for the north and the absolute need to protect people here from the further spread of COVID-19. 

“We have all worked hard and sacrificed in the fight back against COVID-19 and we cannot afford to do anything that would expose people here to any unnecessary risks of the spread of this pandemic.”