Stormont leaders have defended the relaxation of circuit-breaker restrictions in Northern Ireland at a time when daily death and infection numbers remain high.
First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill also pledged to take the Covid-19 vaccine in public as they urged people to stick with regulations set by the Executive until the jabs are rolled out across the region.
The leaders of the powersharing administration justified today's reopenings as health minister Robin Swann warned that a "festive free-for-all" would be "catastrophic" for the region's under-pressure hospital system.
Shops and much of the hospitality sector are reopening after two weeks of strict measures to curb the spread of the virus. Pubs that