New NI restrictions outlined + Cullybackey meat plant closes due to virus cluster

Dear reader,

The limit on numbers at outdoor gatherings in Northern Ireland will fall from 30 to 15, Health Minister Robin Swann announced on Thursday.

The number meeting indoors at households is also to be reduced to six from no more than two households. Mr Swann confirmed the changes as he revealed the R number in the Province now stands at 1.3.

The news came as at least 35 new cases were confirmed at a meat meat processing plant in Co Antrim. Cranswick, in Cullybackey, which processes pigs, will shut for a deep clean and for the testing of staff.

Another 51 people in Northern Ireland have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, meaning a total of 6,556 people have now recorded positive tests. There have been no further deaths related to the virus.

Meanwhile, a bar in Co Londonderry, Dormans in Magherafelt, announced that it is closing temporarily after a number of its customers tested positive for the virus. In a statement on Facebook, the bar said it would remain closed this coming weekend while all of its staff are tested and there is a deep clean of the premises.

It also emerged that two staff at Galgorm Spa and Golf Resort in Ballymena have tested positive for Covid-19.

Alistair Bushe,

Editor

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