The DUP has vetoed a proposed one-week extension to Northern Ireland’s circuit-break lockdown.
All the other executive parties had backed the proposal from health minister Robin Swann, proposed in a bid to end an executive stalemate on restrictions.
Those same parties voted down alternative proposals from DUP economy minister Diane Dodds that would have led to a partial reopening of the hospitality sector.
Divisions at the head of the power-sharing administration have been laid bare over recent days as ministers struggle to agree new pandemic response measures.
The DUP had already vetoed a proposal from Mr Swann to extend the current circuit-break by two weeks, despite the other four executive parties again backing the move on Tuesday.
During a third executive meeting in three days on Wednesday, Mr Swann suggested a one-week extension of the measures, which have forced much of the hospitality sector to close.
It is understood the one-week proposal was designed to buy some time and avoid the cliff edge of the current regulations lapsing at midnight on Thursday.
The DUP again vetoed the proposal using a contentious voting mechanism. It comes after late-night meetings on Monday and Tuesday broke up without agreement.
The executive’s two main parties – the DUP and Sinn Féin – are engaged in a claim and counterclaim spat amid a failure to reach consensus ahead of the looming end of the current circuit-break.
The DUP is understood to be furious at Sinn Féin’s decision to back Mr Swann’s proposal of a two-week lockdown extension.
It believes Sinn Féin backtracked on an apparent pledge to endorse the reopening of cafes and restaurants.
DUP sources believe Sinn Féin’s Dublin powerbase intervened and forced a change in direction north of the border.
DUP First Minister Arlene Foster said her partners in government had to explain why they had changed position.
The claims have been robustly rejected by Sinn Féin, with the party insisting it was acting in line with medical and scientific advice.
Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill said: “Last night at the executive we were warned by the chief medical officer (Dr Michael McBride) that any easing of the current restrictions would cause ‘excess deaths’.
“The advice was stark and clear – if we don’t keep current restrictions in place for another two weeks, more people will die.”
Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew branded the DUP move to veto the extension “madness”.
During Tuesday’s executive meeting, Alliance Party justice minister Naomi Long was particularly critical of the deployment of the cross-community vote – a mechanism designed to protect minority rights in a post-conflict society – to torpedo health regulations.
Northern Ireland’s four-week circuit-break lockdown ends at midnight on Thursday, at which point regulations that have forced the closure of much of the hospitality sector will fall away.
The administration is facing mounting criticism for failing to tell businesses whether they will be able to reopen on Friday.
A further eight new Covid-19 linked deaths were announced in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, with 791 new cases of the virus.