Government To Wait Until Next Week To Decide If Next Stage Of Lifting Restrictions Can Go Ahead On July 5th

Indoor service in bars and restaurants is due to resume from then, along with increased wedding attendance numbers

But there are growing concerns that this could be delayed, due to the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19. 

The strain is now responsible for at least one-in-five new cases being reported here. 

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says Ministers need to hear from public health officials, before making a decision on reopening: 

"But then new information that's come in just the last few days, shows that it could be up to 20% or more of cases so it's a rapidly evolving situation. So what we need to do is what we always do, which is let the scientists, let the public health doctors do their thing."