Coronavirus: Minister proposes north west hospitality funding

Image caption, The north west has been under stricter public health measures since Monday

NI Finance Minister Conor Murphy will seek approval from the Executive on Wednesday for a grant scheme to help the north west's hospitality industry.

Pubs, restaurants and hotels in the Derry City and Strabane council area have been operating under tighter coronavirus restrictions since Monday.

They can only open for takeaway, delivery and outdoor dining.

Mr Murphy said the scheme would "assist hospitality businesses forced to close".

Skip Twitter content
Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter and before accepting. To view this content choose 'accept and continue'.

Warning: Third party content may contain adverts

End of Twitter content

The ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ understands Mr Murphy's proposal will go through urgent procedure for sign-off from the first and deputy first ministers.

It is not clear how much the Department of Finance estimates the scheme could cost in total.

Last week businesses leaders in the north west said there were serious concerns about the impact of the new measures on the hospitality industry in the region.

They were introduced to help curb the surge in coronavirus cases in the region over recent weeks.

The council area has the highest rate of cases per 100,000 in NI.

There have been 1,813 confirmed cases in the Derry and Strabane council area since March - 876 diagnosed in the past seven days.