Social Democratic and Labour Party Leader Colum Eastwood MP has thanked health service staff and the public for their efforts which have seen Covid-19 restrictions eased today.

Speaking as indoor hospitality businesses opened their doors to customers, the Foyle MP urged people to remain vigilant but to support local business.

Colum Eastwood MP said:

“We are able to reopen indoor hospitality today thanks to our health service staff who have successfully rolled out the incredible vaccination programme. With more than one million adults having received their first jab, we are well on the way to protecting our people from this virus.

“I also want to thank the public for their forbearance over the long months since Christmas. This has been an incredibly difficult time but we are now in a much better place and it’s largely down to the efforts of those who have made big sacrifices.

“Now that we are seeing indoor hospitality reopening, it's important that we support local businesses who have been impacted the most during the pandemic. They have made huge sacrifices to keep people safe, it's important that we do our best to shop and buy local now to help them."