Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald has urged people not to travel to beaches or beauty spots on the north coast this weekend.

The East Derry MLA said:

“While there has been some relaxation around the Coronavirus restrictions, travel remains restricted to certain circumstances.

“Last weekend we had an influx of visitors to Portstewart, Portrush and around the north coast, above and beyond what is permitted within the restrictions.

“People should not be travelling miles to take exercise or to meet up with family outdoors, and I would urge people not to travel to the north coast this weekend.

“Where people locally are accessing beaches, parks or other walkways, they should ensure social distancing is being implemented.

“The virus is still spreading and we all have a role in limiting its spread; we must continue to ensure we stay home where possible, implement social distancing and practice hand hygiene.

“I have spoken to senior PSNI locally about their planning for this weekend and preparations to deal with similar issues to last week, and I have been assured that plans are in place to deal with this.

“I have urged the PSNI to enforce the restrictions as they stand and I will be keeping in contact with them over the weekend.

“We must all keep in mind that any restrictions that have been eased may have to be reimplemented if the rate of infection increases again, so we all have a responsibility to be vigilant and ensure we can continue to ease restrictions rather than having to reimpose them.”