Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

Timeline

February 2020
  • 27 February – Authorities confirm the first case of coronavirus in Northern Ireland.[1]

March 2020
  • 18 March – The Northern Ireland Assembly reduces its workload by suspending all non-essential Assembly business. It is closed to the public from the following day.[2]
  • 19 March – The first COVID-19 death is confirmed in Northern Ireland.[3]
  • 28 March – At 11pm, new regulations come into force in Northern Ireland giving authorities the power to force businesses to close, and impose fines on them if they refuse, as well as on people leaving their homes without a "reasonable excuse". The measures, introduced by the Northern Ireland Executive, bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.[4][5]

April 2020
  • 6 April – The Orange Lodge of Ireland announces that the traditional Twelfth of July parades in Northern Ireland have been cancelled for 2020.[6]
  • 7 April – *The Northern Ireland Assembly establishes a COVID-19 Response Committees.[7]
  • 11 April – Occupancy of critical care beds in England peaks at around 58% of capacity. Occupancy in the month of April for Scotland and Wales will only briefly exceed 40%, while Northern Ireland reported a peak of 51% early in the month.[8]
  • 15 April – Arlene Foster, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, extends the period of lockdown in Northern Ireland to 9 May.[9]
  • 24 April –
    • UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announces bilateral discussions with the Irish and French governments to safeguard freight routes, and with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding support for passenger flights.[10] Funding is to be provided to support ferry routes to Northern Ireland,[10] the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly.[11]
    • The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reopen cemeteries in Northern Ireland following public pressure; they had been closed since March.[12]

May 2020
  • 10 May – The UK government updates its coronavirus message from "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives" to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives". The Opposition Labour Party expresses concern the slogan could be confusing, and leaders of the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland say they will keep the original slogan.[13]
  • 12 May – The Northern Ireland Executive publishes a five-stage plan for exiting lockdown. Unlike those announced in England and the Republic of Ireland, the plans do not include any dates when steps may be taken.[14][15]
  • 14 May – Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster announces the first steps for easing the lockdown in Northern Ireland, with garden centres and recycling centres allowed to reopen from Monday 18 May. Marriage ceremonies where a person is terminally ill will also be allowed.[16]
  • 19 May – Northern Ireland further eases its lockdown measures. Groups of up to six people who do not share the same household are allowed to meet up outdoors, so long as they maintain social distancing. Churches are allowed to reopen for private prayer, and the playing of sports such as golf and tennis can resume.[17]
  • 21 May – Northern Ireland Education Minister Peter Weir outlines plans for schools to reopen in Northern Ireland in August, with a phased return for students.[18]
  • 26 May –
    • For the first day since 18 March, no new COVID deaths are reported in Northern Ireland. Robin Swann, the Northern Ireland Health Minister, describes it as "a clear sign of progress".[19]
    • The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to further relax lockdown restrictions from 8 June, when large retailers, car showrooms and shops in retail parks will be allowed to open, and outdoor weddings attended by ten people will be permitted.[20]
  • 31 May – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to ease the lockdown measures for people shielding at home from 8 June, when they will be allowed outdoors with members of their household, or to meet one member of another household if they are living alone.[21]

June 2020
  • 4 June – Debenhams announces plans to reopen three stores in Northern Ireland from 8 June, followed by 50 in England a week later.[22]
  • 7 June – No new deaths are recorded for Scotland or Northern Ireland over the most recent 24 hour period; it is the first time Scotland has recorded no new deaths since lockdown began in March.[23][24]
  • 11 June – The Northern Ireland Executive meets to agree the easing of a number of lockdown measures, including allowing the reopening of small shops and shopping centres from the following day, and letting those who live alone form a bubble with members of one other household from Saturday 13 June.[25]
  • 12 June – Non-essential retailers reopen in Northern Ireland.[26]
  • 13 June – Parts of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (Amendment No. 4) Regulations 2020 (SI 588) come into effect. In England and Northern Ireland, households with one adult may now become linked with one other household of any size, allowing them to be treated as one for the purpose of permitted gatherings. This also allows the members of one household to stay overnight at the home of the other. The government refers to this as a ”support bubble”.[27] The rules on gatherings are also relaxed to allow medical appointments and births to be accompanied, and to permit some visits to people in hospital, hospices and care homes.
  • 15 June – Diane Dodds, Northern Ireland's Economy Minister, announces that bars, restaurants and cafes in Northern Ireland can reopen from 3 July.[28]
  • 18 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reduce social distancing at schools from 2 metres to 1 metre, with a target date for schools to return on 24 August.[29] Non-urgent dental treatment will resume in Northern Ireland from 29 June,[30] and hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons can reopen from 6 July.[31]
  • 19 June – Northern Ireland Education Minister Peter Weir confirms the Northern Ireland Executive have agreed to extend the country's free meals scheme to cover the summer holidays.[32]
  • 20 June – *Northern Ireland records one death in the most recent 24 hour period, but no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since March.[33][34]
  • 21 June – No new COVID-19 deaths are recorded for Scotland and Northern Ireland.[35][36]
  • 22 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to allow up to six people to meet up indoors from the following day.[37]
  • 25 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reduce social distancing from two metres to one metre from 29 June, as well as a raft of other lockdown easing measures for Northern Ireland. These include reopening betting shops on 3 July, reopening of close contact services such as spas and tattoo parlours on 6 July, reopening indoor gyms and playgrounds from 10 July, reopening libraries from 16 July, resuming competitive sport from 17 July, reopening bingo halls and arcades, theatres and cinemas from 29 July, and reopening indoor sports facilities, leisure centres, skating rinks and soft play areas from 7 August. In addition, indoor spectators at sporting events will be allowed from 28 August, and open air museums can reopen from late August.[38]

July 2020
  • 1 July – Northern Ireland's Department of Health says that a contact-tracing app will be ready for Northern Ireland by the end of July.[39]
  • 2 July –
    • Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster calls on her deputy, Michelle O'Neill to resign following her attendance of a funeral. Foster says she cannot "stand beside" O'Neill and "give out public health advice" after she attended the gathering of 120, breaking Northern Ireland government restrictions that say no more than 30 should attend a funeral.[40]
    • The Northern Ireland Executive announces that the wearing of face coverings will be compulsory on public transport in Northern Ireland from 10 July. Exceptions will be for those with a medical condition, children under the age of 13, and on school transport.[41]
  • 3 July –
    • The UK government published a list of 59 countries for which quarantine will not apply when arriving back in England as from 10 July. They include Greece, France, Belgium and Spain, but Portugal and the United States are among those not on the list. These changes do not apply to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, where quarantine restrictions remain in place for all arrivals from outside the UK.[42]
  • Hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes permitted to reopen in Northern Ireland.[43]
    • Northern Ireland's deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill apologised after complaints about her attendance of a funeral a few days earlier.[44]
  • 6 July –
    • As concerns about increasing unemployment grow, the UK government announces a £111m scheme to help firms in England provide an extra 30,000 trainee places; £21m will be provided to fund similar schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[45]
    • Northern Ireland relaxes visiting rules for hospitals and care homes, while birth partners are allowed to attend maternity appointments again. Close contact businesses, including hairdressers and tattoo parlours are also reopened.[46]
    • The Northern Ireland Executive also announces that indoor weddings and baptisms will be allowed from 10 July.[47]
  • 9 July – Northern Ireland lifts quarantine regulations on arrivals from 50 countries, including France, Italy, Germany and Spain, effective from 10 July.[48]
  • 13 July – A survey by Ulster Bank finds that the economy of Northern Ireland continued to shrink in June, but at a slower rate than in previous months.[49]
  • 14 July –
    • With a condensed season of Gaelic football set to begin on the upcoming weekend, the Gaelic Athletics Association's COVID Advisory Group agrees to keep indoor facilities, such as dressing rooms and gyms, closed until further notice.[50]
    • As England announces that face coverings will become mandatory in shops from 24 July, Northern Ireland's Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon says she supports the introduction of the same measure for Northern Ireland.[51]
  • 15 July – The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) publishes a postcode breakdown of COVID-19 deaths in Northern Ireland; the data indicates the BT4 area of East Belfast, including parts of the Upper Newtownards Road, Holywood Road and Sydenham to have had to largest number of deaths at 36.[52]
  • 16 July – Contact-tracing is under way after Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency identifies a cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to a social gathering in the Limavady area.[53]
  • 18 July – Research conducted by Ulster University indicates that an estimated 240,000 to 280,000 jobs could be at risk under two metre social distancing regulations, and that reducing it to one metre could save up to 30,000 jobs.[54]
  • 20 July – Routine dental care is allowed to resume, but dentists warn that a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) means not all practices can reopen in Northern Ireland.[55]
  • 21 July – The Democratic Unionist Party rejects a suggestion from Sinn Féin that travellers from Great Britain to Northern Ireland should quarantine for 14 days as a means of preventing the spread of COVID-19. DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson describes the idea as a "non-starter".[56]
  • 22 July – The Public Health Agency says it has identified 16 clusters of COVID-19 involving 133 cases since its contact-tracing system began operating.[57]
  • 23 July –
    • The Northern Ireland Executive gives the go-ahead for swimming pools, spas and community centres to reopen from the following day, and announces that face coverings must be worn in shops from 20 August. The Executive also agrees to request urgent talks with the UK and Irish governments over travel arrangements.[58]
    • The Department of Health confirms the release of Northern Ireland's contact-tracing app, StopCOVID NI, for as early as 29 July. Northern Ireland is the first part of the UK to launch a contact-tracing app.[59]
  • 24 July – Swimming pools, spas and community centres are allowed to reopen.[58]
  • 26 July – Quarantine restrictions are reimposed on travellers arriving from Spain following a spike of COVID-19 cases in Spain.[60]
  • 30 July – Northern Ireland's contact tracing app StopCOVID NI is launched.[61]
  • 31 July –

August 2020
  • 2 August – Figures released by the Health and Safety Executive show that 336 compalaints were made about companies regarding breaches of COVID-19 regulations between 5 May to 17 July.[64]
  • 5 August – The number of COVID-19 cases in Northern Ireland passes 6,000 after ten new cases bring the total to 6,006.[65]
  • 6 August – The latest round of rule changes are announced by the Northern Ireland Executive, with the wearing of face coverings becoming compulsory in shops and other enclosed spaces from 10 August. Pubs serving food are allowed to open from the same day, though pubs that do not serve food must remain closed.[66] Pupils will be able to return to school full time from the beginning of the autumn term.[67]
  • 7 August –
    • Weekly statistics released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency indicate one COVID-19 related death for the week ending 31 July.[68]
    • Professor Ian Young, the chief scientific adviser for Northern Ireland, says that face coverings would be "of some benefit" to older school pupils.[69]
  • 8 August –
  • 10 August –
    • The wearing of face coverings becomes compulsory in shops and other enclosed places.[72]
    • Ulster Bank's monthly survey of economic activity in Northern Ireland indicates the economy is recovering following the pandemic, but that employment is falling, with the service sector the most impacted.[73]
  • 11 August – Health Minister Robin Swann expresses concern at the "increasing number" of COVID-19 cases after a rise of 194 cases in the last seven days, 48 of them in the last 24 hours.[74]
  • 12 August –
    • As another 29 COVID-19 cases are recorded for Northern Ireland, health minister Robin Swann warns Northern Ireland is facing one of the most dangerous points of the pandemic, and expresses concern that some people have stopped following COVID guidelines.[75]
    • Figures published by the Business Services Organisation (BSO) show that more than 170 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) were delivered to the health service in Northern Ireland during the first five months of the pandemic.[76]
  • 13 August –
    • A Level results are published. In Northern Ireland 37% of estimated grades were lowered, while 5.3% were raised.[77]
    • Schools in Northern Ireland are issued with reopening guidelines, with the wearing of face coverings optional and advice that social distancing "may be relaxed in the presence of other mitigations" such as hygiene measures.[78]
  • 15 August – The Department of Health begins issuing weekend COVID updates again, having stopped doing so earlier in the summer. The figures show a further 65 new cases in Northern Ireland.[79]
  • 17 August –
    • Education minister Peter Weir announces that A Level and GCSE results will be based on teachers' assessment following controversy over grades.[80]
    • Northern Ireland's chief scientific adviser, Professor Ian Young, expresses concern at the rising number of COVID cases in Northern Ireland and suggests local measures may be required to curtail the increase.[81]

See also

References
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  2. "Assembly Business and Covid-19". www.niassembly.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
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