Arlene Foster defends the pre-Christmas easing of coronavirus restrictions at a press conference in Co Fermanagh on Monday afternoon. Stormont’s first minister insisted one of the new variants of Covid-19 was a key factor in rocketing case numbers witnessed at the turn of the year. Mrs Foster also suggested that the powersharing executive may have to consider introducing another curfew, similar to that deployed in the week over New Year, if the current strict lockdown measures fail to suppress the virus sufficiently. Hospitals in Northern Ireland are under increasing pressure with health chiefs warning that the worst is yet to come.