Sam McBride: What is happening at Stormont over coronavirus restrictions is inept, but also baffling

85% of NI's ICU beds are currently occupied - three more deaths and 913 new cases recorded in last 24 hours

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Subscribe              Oct 20, 2020           Dear reader The row about the coronavirus restrictions introduced by the Stormont Executive rumbled on on Monday, with a Lagan Valley MLA the latest high profile DUP politician to speak out.  Paul Givan said in the Assembly on Tuesday that the attempts by some other parties on the Executive to push for school closures to last between four and six weeks were tantamount to "child abuse".  Schools here are set to remain closed for an extra week at half-term as part of the new virus restrictions, but it is claimed that other parties, including Sinn Fein, wanted them shut for much longer.  In the Republic, where the country moved to Tier 5 restrictions last night, schools will remain open despite swathes of the economy closing down for six weeks.  The row comes as the Department of Health confirmed that another three people have died after contracting coronavirus. It was another day of high infection rates with 913 people in Northern Ireland having tested positive for Covid-19 over the previous 24 hours.   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.           Sam McBride: What is happening at Stormont over coronavirus restrictions is inept, but also baffling           There is distrust and incompetence within the Executive which is undermining its attempt to tackle coronavirus, but there is also something happening within the DUP which is bafflingly incoherent.                 85% of NI's ICU beds are currently occupied - three more deaths and 913 new cases recorded in last 24 hours   There are currently 18 intensive care unit (ICU) beds available throughout Northern Ireland.           Paul Givan: Longer school closures advocated by some Stormont ministers tantamount to 'child abuse'   A DUP MLA has branded longer school closures advocated by some ministers in the Stormont Executive as "child abuse".           Ireland heading into six weeks of toughest coronavirus restrictions   Ireland will be placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe later this week in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, PA understands.           Transfer test causing 'extreme concern' for parents - but 85% of group intending to enter children into process   Around six in ten parents who responded to a Stormont survey said they were "very or extremely concerned" about children taking transfer tests this school year.           Aontu councillor Anne McCloskey: I've quit but NI party members back me 100% over my anti-lockdown stance   A councillor who has quit her seat due to her outspoken opposition to lockdown has said that many fellow party members back her stance.           David McNarry: I hope this is not just DUP sabre rattling from Edwin Poots, that then comes to nothing   In his BBC Talkback interview (Friday October 16) Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots ploughed up the executive and scattered the DUP.           NI business leaders call for end to 'lockdown, release and repeat' Covid strategy   A consortium of concerned business leaders from across Northern Ireland has published a three-point plan they say offers a viable alternative to the Executive's "lockdown, release and repeat" Covid strategy.                 View more on Coronavirus

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