The Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland has said the decision to implement a six-week lockdown from 26 December is the right intervention and is supported by all five parties in the coalition.
Michelle O'Neill appealed to the public to "work with us" to prevent the health service from being completely crushed in January and to avoid a desperate situation getting worse.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said that the situation in Northern Ireland is "dire and unacceptable" and that it was clear that immediate intervention was needed.
Ms O’Neill said that the DUP had "worked against the entire public health team and the Executive to date" and those previous interventions were "not hard enough or long enough".