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A series of lockdown easements will apply across Northern Ireland from Monday.<\/p>\nA series of lockdown easements will apply across Northern Ireland from Monday.<\/p>\n
They include allowing those who are shielding to spend time outside with a person from another household, with social distancing observed.<\/p>\n
Marriage and civil partnership ceremonies may take place outdoors with no more than 10 people in attendance, while the needs or welfare of animals can be tended to.<\/p>\n
The reopening of outdoor sports facilities, as well as outdoor retailers such as car showrooms and agricultural machinery, are also allowed from Monday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, dental surgeries are permitted to open for face-to-face urgent dental care in the first part of a three-stage reopening process.<\/p>\n
The easements are more conservative than those in the Republic, where from Monday a wider variety of retail shops can open.<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland Executive is set to meet later on Monday to discuss its response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts has urged ministers to set a date for the remaining retail shops to reopen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Irish Government setting out a road map for its retail sector to reopen, the Executive must now also set a date, otherwise many local towns and retailers along the border will be at a major competitive disadvantage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deputy First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill told RT\u00c9 on Sunday that she noted the Irish plan \u201cwith interest\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an inbuilt flexibility to respond to the conditions on any given day, and I am hopeful that at our Executive meeting tomorrow, we will able to make more progress for our retail sector,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n