DUBLIN (Reuters) – Northern Ireland reported an all-time high of 3,231 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, up from an average of just over 2,000 in the previous seven days, government data showed.
The devolved government of the British region was due to make a decision later on Wednesday about possible additional restrictions to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Unlike the neighbouring Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland has not put significant restrictions on its hospitality sector. A number of restaurants have closed voluntarily until after Christmas due to the concerns about the virus.
Several members of the devolved administration say they are limited in what they can do due to funding constraints from London.
A total of 2,958 people have died in the region, which has a population of 1.9 million, since the start of the pandemic, data showed after three additional deaths were reported on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Ian Graham and Conor Humphries, editing by Andy Bruce)
