Belfast Chamber Chief Executive Simon Hamilton has called on the Northern Ireland Executive to follow the example of devolved governments in Scotland and Wales and lift the restrictions placed on many businesses locally late last year after the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.   Commenting as news broke that the Scottish Government were easing restrictions from next Monday after the Welsh Government announced its lifting of restrictions last week, Belfast Chamber Chief Executive Simon Hamilton said, “With Scotland being the latest devolved administration to indicate that they are ending most of the restrictions they introduced before Christmas due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant, it is time for the Northern Ireland Executive to follow the example of Scotland and Wales and spell out when restrictions here will similarly end.


 

 

Thankfully, the predictions of experts and some politicians about how hard Omicron would hit us were wide of the mark.  The effect on the businesses impacted by the restrictions that were introduced has been very real.  With our concerns about Omicron now abating and businesses facing many other challenges too, Ministers must move fast to remove those restrictions and amend their work from home guidance to help businesses to recover.  As others start to get back to some semblance of normality, so should we”.

 

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