Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland (2020) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This is a timeline of how the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland unfolded during 2020. It shows the important events and changes that happened as people in Northern Ireland dealt with the coronavirus. Rules and how things were reported could be different from other parts of the UK, like England, Scotland, and Wales.

Timeline of Events
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Timeline of Events

February 2020

27 February – The first case of coronavirus is confirmed in Northern Ireland.

March 2020

18 March – The Northern Ireland Assembly (Northern Ireland's government) reduces its work and closes to the public.
19 March – The first death from COVID-19 is confirmed in Northern Ireland.
23 March – With more deaths across the UK, a nationwide 'Stay at Home' order begins. This is known as the UK lockdown.
28 March – New rules start in Northern Ireland. They allow authorities to make businesses close and fine people who leave their homes without a good reason. This brings Northern Ireland's rules in line with the rest of the UK.

April 2020

6 April – The Orange Order announces that the big Twelfth of July parades are cancelled for 2020.
7 April – The Northern Ireland Assembly creates special committees to deal with COVID-19.
15 April – Arlene Foster, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, extends the lockdown in Northern Ireland until 9 May.
24 April –
- The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reopen cemeteries after people asked for them to be opened again.

May 2020

10 May – The UK government changes its coronavirus message to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives". However, leaders in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland decide to keep the original message: "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives".
12 May – The Northern Ireland Executive shares a five-step plan for ending the lockdown. Unlike other plans, it does not include specific dates.
14 May – First Minister Arlene Foster announces the first steps to ease lockdown. Garden centres and recycling centres can reopen from 18 May.
19 May – Northern Ireland eases lockdown more. Groups of up to six people can meet outdoors if they keep their distance. Churches can reopen for private prayer, and sports like golf and tennis can start again.
21 May – Northern Ireland Education Minister Peter Weir shares plans for schools to reopen in August.
26 May –
- For the first time since 18 March, no new COVID deaths are reported in Northern Ireland. Health Minister Robin Swann calls this "a clear sign of progress".
- The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to relax more rules from 8 June. Large shops, car showrooms, and shops in retail parks can open. Outdoor weddings with ten people are also allowed.
31 May – Rules are eased for people who have been shielding at home. From 8 June, they can go outdoors with their household or meet one person from another household if they live alone.

June 2020

11 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to ease more lockdown measures. Small shops and shopping centres can reopen from the next day. People living alone can form a "support bubble" with another household from 13 June.
12 June – Non-essential shops reopen across Northern Ireland.
13 June – Rules are relaxed in England and Northern Ireland. Households with one adult can now link with one other household of any size. This means they can be treated as one household for gatherings and can stay overnight at each other's homes.
15 June – Diane Dodds, Northern Ireland's Economy Minister, announces that bars, restaurants, and cafes can reopen from 3 July.
18 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reduce social distancing in schools from 2 metres to 1 metre. Schools aim to return on 24 August. Hairdressers, barbers, and beauty salons can reopen from 6 July.
19 June – Education Minister Peter Weir confirms that the free school meals scheme will continue through the summer holidays.
20 June – Northern Ireland records one death but no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since March.
22 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to allow up to six people to meet indoors from the next day.
25 June – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reduce social distancing from two metres to one metre from 29 June. Many other lockdown rules are eased, including reopening betting shops, spas, tattoo parlours, gyms, playgrounds, libraries, and cinemas in July and August.

July 2020

1 July – Northern Ireland's Department of Health says a contact-tracing app will be ready by the end of July.
2 July –
- The Northern Ireland Executive announces that wearing face coverings will be compulsory on public transport from 10 July.
3 July –
- Hotels, bars, restaurants, and cafes are allowed to reopen in Northern Ireland.
6 July –
- Northern Ireland relaxes visiting rules for hospitals and care homes. Close contact businesses like hairdressers and tattoo parlours also reopen.
- Indoor weddings and baptisms are allowed from 10 July.
9 July – Northern Ireland lifts quarantine rules for arrivals from 50 countries, starting 10 July.
14 July – As England makes face coverings mandatory in shops, Northern Ireland's Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon supports the same rule for Northern Ireland.
16 July – Contact-tracing begins after a group of COVID-19 cases is found in the Limavady area.
20 July – Routine dental care can resume, but dentists warn that a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) means not all practices can reopen.
23 July –
- The Northern Ireland Executive allows swimming pools, spas, and community centres to reopen from the next day. They also announce that face coverings must be worn in shops from 20 August.
- Northern Ireland's contact-tracing app, StopCOVID NI, is confirmed for release as early as 29 July. It is the first part of the UK to launch such an app.
24 July – Swimming pools, spas, and community centres reopen.
26 July – Quarantine rules are brought back for travellers arriving from Spain due to a rise in COVID-19 cases there.
30 July – Northern Ireland's contact tracing app StopCOVID NI is launched.
31 July – The shielding programme for vulnerable people in Northern Ireland is paused.

August 2020

5 August – The number of COVID-19 cases in Northern Ireland goes past 6,000.
6 August – New rules are announced. Wearing face coverings becomes compulsory in shops and other enclosed spaces from 10 August. Pubs serving food can open from the same day. Pupils can return to school full-time.
10 August – Wearing face coverings becomes compulsory in shops and other enclosed places.
12 August – Health Minister Robin Swann warns that Northern Ireland is at a dangerous point in the pandemic and that some people have stopped following guidelines.
13 August – Schools in Northern Ireland receive reopening guidelines. Wearing face coverings is optional, and social distancing can be relaxed if other safety measures are in place.
17 August – Education minister Peter Weir announces that A Level and GCSE results will now be based on teachers' assessments.
18 August – The Northern Ireland Executive holds its first COVID-19 press briefing in six weeks. Health Minister Robin Swann warns that lockdown measures might be brought back.
19 August – The heads of Northern Ireland's four main churches ask their church members to wear face coverings during services.
20 August –
- The Northern Ireland Executive tightens rules on how many people can meet. Outdoor gatherings are reduced from 30 to 15 people. Indoor gatherings are reduced from ten people to six people from two different households.
- A meat processing plant closes for a deep clean after 35 people test positive for COVID-19.
24 August – Schools reopen for the autumn term.
25 August – Education Minister Peter Weir announces that school pupils must wear face coverings in corridors and other shared areas from 31 August.
26 August – The Northern Ireland Executive delays the reopening of theatres and pubs that do not serve food due to a rise in the virus.
28 August – The number of COVID-19 cases in Northern Ireland passes 7,000.
31 August – Face coverings are now recommended for secondary schools in Northern Ireland.

September 2020

1 September – Almost all schools in Northern Ireland fully reopen to pupils for the first time since March.
2 September – Primary school transfer exams are delayed from November 2020 to January 2021.
3 September – Finance Minister Conor Murphy asks the UK Treasury to extend the furlough scheme (a scheme to help pay people's wages) beyond October.
7 September – The Department of Education describes an email sent to schools, mistakenly calling them care homes and offering testing kits, as "regrettable".
10 September – The Northern Ireland Executive puts new restrictions on visiting homes in Ballymena and parts of Glenavy, Lisburn, and Crumlin due to rising cases.
16 September – Local COVID-19 restrictions become legally enforceable.
17 September – The Northern Ireland Executive allows pubs that only serve drinks to reopen from 23 September. However, restrictions on home visits are put in place for parts of County Armagh.
18 September – Health Minister Robin Swann describes three new songs by Sir Van Morrison that protest against COVID-19 rules as "dangerous".
21 September – The Northern Ireland Executive extends COVID-19 restrictions to all of Northern Ireland from 22 September. Households are prevented from mixing, and groups of no more than six are allowed to meet.
22 September – First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill ask for a "big push" to control COVID-19 cases, calling the new measures a "wake-up call".
23 September – Health Minister Robin Swann says COVID-19 is "gaining momentum" again, and there is a "narrow window" to stop it.
25 September – A further 273 cases of COVID-19 are confirmed, taking the total past 10,000.
26 September – Northern Ireland records its highest daily cases of COVID-19 with 319 new cases.
29 September – The Northern Ireland Executive announces that bars, pubs, and restaurants must close at 11pm from 30 September.

October 2020

1 October – New restrictions are announced for Derry and Strabane, which have the highest COVID rates. Pubs, cafes, restaurants, and hotels can only offer takeaway, delivery, or outdoor dining.
2 October – A further 934 cases of COVID-19 are recorded, the highest daily total so far.
5 October – First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill discuss extra financial support from the UK government if another lockdown is needed.
7 October – Health Minister Robin Swann expresses concern that too many people are ignoring COVID rules.
8 October – Figures show Derry City and Strabane has the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the UK.
9 October – The Northern Ireland Executive introduces new fines for breaking coronavirus rules, with a minimum fine of £200. A further 1,080 COVID-19 cases are recorded, the highest daily total to date.
14 October – New restrictions are announced for Northern Ireland, affecting schools and hospitality. Hospitality businesses will be limited to takeaway only for four weeks from 16 October. Schools will close for two weeks from 19 October.
15 October – The Northern Ireland Executive announces financial support for businesses forced to close due to tighter COVID rules.
16 October – Pubs and restaurants close as Northern Ireland begins a month of tighter restrictions.
19 October – Education Minister Peter Weir confirms that almost 1,500 COVID-19 cases have been found in schools since August.
20 October – Health officials say there is "strong evidence" that restrictions in the Derry City and Strabane area are helping to reduce cases.
22 October – The Northern Ireland Executive announces that free school meals will be provided during the October half-term break.
26 October – People are asked not to attend Antrim Area Hospital because it is "operating beyond capacity" with many patients waiting to be admitted.
28 October – Northern Ireland records its youngest COVID-related death, a 19-year-old male.
29 October – Finance Minister Conor Murphy announces a £560 million funding package for the health service to deal with COVID-19.
30 October – Health Minister Robin Swann warns that hopes of returning to normal after Northern Ireland's four weeks of tighter restrictions are "entirely misplaced".

November 2020

1 November – Finance Minister Conor Murphy calls for the furlough scheme to be extended beyond December.
2 November – Schools are told to hold physical education classes outside with no more than fifteen pupils.
3 November – Education Minister Peter Weir announces that schools can hold PE indoors or outdoors without limits on numbers after a legal change.
5 November – First Minister Arlene Foster announces that Northern Ireland's restrictions have helped reduce the R number (how fast the virus spreads) to about 0.7. Northern Ireland's contact-tracing app, StopCovidNI, has been downloaded over half a million times.
6 November – The number of COVID deaths in Northern Ireland passes 1,000.
10 November – The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) rejects proposals to extend Northern Ireland's lockdown restrictions by two weeks. Education Minister Peter Weir announces that GCSE, AS, and A Level exams will go ahead in summer 2021.
12 November – Stormont votes to extend lockdown restrictions for one week, until 20 November. After this, close contact services like hair and beauty salons can reopen by appointment.
13 November – First Minister Arlene Foster says she regrets how the Executive handled the decision to extend COVID restrictions.
19 November – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to impose another two-week "circuit breaker" lockdown from 27 November. Restrictions will be slightly eased for a week from 20 November. Schools will stay open during this new lockdown.
20 November – Restrictions are eased for a week. First Minister Arlene Foster denies that the DUP changed its mind about supporting further lockdown measures.
24 November – Plans for Christmas COVID measures are announced. Up to three households can meet indoors and outdoors from 23 to 27 December. Restrictions will be relaxed from 22 to 28 December for those travelling to and from the UK mainland.
25 November – Health Minister Robin Swann urges people to "unite" and follow new lockdown rules to make Christmas more enjoyable.
26 November – Health Minister Robin Swann announces that Northern Ireland's COVID-19 vaccination programme plans to begin in December.
28 November – GPs in Northern Ireland plan to start COVID vaccinations for people over 80 and not in care homes from 4 January 2021.

December 2020

1 December – The number of COVID-related deaths in Northern Ireland passes 1,000.
2 December – Following the UK's approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the first vaccinations in Northern Ireland could be given as early as 9 December.
3 December – The Northern Ireland Executive announces that non-essential shops and some hospitality businesses can reopen from 11 December. Bars, restaurants, and hotels must close by 11pm.
4 December – The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arrive in Northern Ireland.
8 December – Residents of a care home and a 28-year-old nurse become the first people in Northern Ireland to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine.
9 December – Education Minister Peter Weir says he will not cancel GCSE, AS, and A Level exams in 2021.
11 December – Non-essential shops, restaurants, and cafes are allowed to reopen as Northern Ireland's latest lockdown ends. Health Minister Robin Swann warns that more restrictions are "inevitable" in the New Year.
14 December – Health officials warn that hospitals could be overwhelmed if there is a COVID spike after Christmas.
15 December – Antrim Area Hospital reports a queue of ambulances outside its emergency department as it struggles to deal with COVID patients.
17 December – The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to start another lockdown from 26 December, which could last for six weeks. Non-essential shops and contact services will close from Christmas Eve.
18 December – Education Minister Peter Weir announces that schools will open as normal in the first week of January.
20 December – The Northern Ireland Executive decides to limit Christmas bubbles to Christmas Day only.
21 December – The Northern Ireland Executive votes against proposals to ban travel between Northern Ireland and the UK mainland.
23 December – Health Minister Robin Swann announces that suspected cases of the new variant of COVID-19 have been found in Northern Ireland.
26 December – Northern Ireland goes into a six-week lockdown after rules were briefly relaxed for Christmas Day.
28 December – Health Minister Robin Swann urges people to stay at home over the New Year, warning that parties could become "super spreader" events.
29 December – A further 1,566 COVID cases are reported, the highest daily total so far.
30 December – Northern Ireland records its highest daily number of COVID cases with 2,143 cases.
31 December – Northern Ireland schools will have a phased return in January, with some pupils learning from home.