NI hospitality sector opens up on a day of continuing tensions at Stormont

Deputy First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, has issued an apology for any hurt inflicted on grieving families who buried loved ones during the Coronavirus lockdown however she has not said sorry for her actions at the funeral of veteran republican Bobby Storey on Tuesday.

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News   What's On   Lifestyle              Jul 3, 2020           Good afternoon   Friday was a landmark day for Northern Ireland as the Province made another giant step out of lockdown.    Amidst the backdrop of the continuing fallout at Stormont over the Bobby Storey funeral, many of Northern Ireland's bars, restaurants, hotels and cafes reopened their doors.    Economy minister Diane Dodds hailed the reopening of the sector as a hugely positive step forward as she visited a number of establishments.   However, amidst the obvious joy at seeing more normality return to Northern Ireland, figures released by the Stormont's statistics agency Nisra showed that the Province has recorded 1,000 excess deaths in recent months.    Over the last 13 weeks in total, 1,001 excess deaths above the average for the corresponding period in previous years were registered, with the number in the year to June 26 totalling 742   It is these kinds of statistics that remind us of how traumatic the last few months have been for so many families.    For those of you who get to enjoy a visit to a hotel, bar/restaurant or cafe over the weekend, have a lovely time.    Stay safe.   Alistair Bushe, Editor Want total access to all of our online content? You can subscribe to our website, newsletter.co.uk for just £1 a month for 3 months - and it couldn't be easier. Signing up will get you faster-loading articles, fewer adverts and access to exclusive content and events when we run them. To learn more, visit our Subscriptions page here.           Michelle O'Neill finally says 'sorry' - but only for hurt caused, rather than her actions           Deputy First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, has issued an apology for any hurt inflicted on grieving families who buried loved ones during the Coronavirus lockdown however she has not said sorry for her actions at the funeral of veteran republican Bobby Storey on Tuesday.                 Translink boss hopeful enforcement rules will not be needed over face coverings   Hopes have been voiced that enforcement action for the wearing of face coverings on public transport will not be necessary.           Presbyterian moderator: To be safe as churches re-open, we will need to set aside some things that we love to do   With churches able to return to worship this Sunday, Presbyterian Moderator Rt Rev Dr DAVID BRUCE, offers four thoughts to help churchgoers who may be making their way back to church in the coming weeks.           One in four Northern Ireland adults 'now at risk of hunger and malnutrition'   One in four adults across NI have struggled to access affordable food under lockdown and are now susceptible to hunger and malnutrition, a UK-wide survey has found.           Harry goes the extra mile for charity during lockdown   Harry Waterson, a ten-year-old pupil at Brookfield Special School in Moira, certainly hasn't been sitting around during the Covid-19 lockdown.                 View more on Coronavirus

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