Lockdown restrictions for Markethill, part of Hamiltonsbawn and part of Armagh city

The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed to issue parts of Co. Armagh with localised restriction measures because of a spike in the number of new COVID-19 infections.

People living in the postcode area BT60 must adhere to the restrictions when they come into play at 5pm today (Friday, September 18).

It applies to Markethill, but confusing only half of Armagh City and half of Hamiltonsbawn.

The restrictions mainly relate to household gatherings:

• no mixing of households in private dwellings, with exemptions for:

• bubbling with one other household

• caring responsibilities including childcare

• essential maintenance

• supported living arrangements

• visits required for legal or medical purposes

• marriage or civil partnership ceremony in a private dwelling where one partner is terminally ill

• no more than six people to gather in a private garden from no more than two households

Elsewhere, Stormont has also rubber stamped Wednesday September 23 as the day when ‘wet pubs’ (pubs that do not normally serve food) can reopen for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.