Dr. Colm Henry:

Nobody wanted to introduce these measures but we did so to keep maternity units as safe as possible. There was emerging evidence, as we know, that Covid-19 had a particularly serious impact on those women in later pregnancy who were hospitalised. We know this from the information that came through from our healthcare system and those abroad concerning stillbirths and placentitis. These are exactly the kinds of risks we were trying to avoid with these measures. Thanks to the collapse in community incidence and the vaccination programme generally, we have a much safer society and much safer hospitals than we had in January when these measures were in full force.

In addition to compliance with the four areas listed in the opening statement, we will amend the guidance this week to look at attendance in early pregnancy assessment units, which women with early pregnancy problems attend for scanning. Sometimes difficult news must be conveyed in these units so in recognition of that, we are looking at re-introducing visiting rights.

If I may, I will address two other areas.