FERMANAGH politician Arlene Foster said it was “quite inhumane” that people weren’t able to be with their loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic, as part of the Government restrictions.

Adhering to advice from the Department of Health, hospitals across the North suspended visiting in a bid to reduce the spread of Covid-19, which was having a major impact on the community.

Speaking at the recent Covid-19 Inquiry, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland questioned whether some of the restrictions imposed during the pandemic could have been different.

“Those living alone were isolated and lonely, people who were dying alone in hospital, and if I could change one thing, my lady, it would be that,” said Ms Foster, who sits in the House of Lords.

“We should have given families all of the information, told them about the risks and allowed them to make the decisions as to whether they wanted to be with their loved ones as they were dying.

“Because I think it is quite inhumane, when one thinks about it, to allow someone to die alone in the way that so many people did,” the former Northern Ireland First Minister said in London.

The 54-year-old came under fire at the Covid-19 Inquiry when she was asked to justify the decision to stop contract tracing in March 2020, with a surge in infection following soon after.

Northern Ireland Chief Medical Officer, Prof. Sir Michael McBride, suggested that testing capacity and the lack of testing equipment at the time was behind the decision to stop community tracing.

Ms Foster said that, on reflection, the Stormont Executive “were not prepared” for the pandemic.

“I think we were quite early in the pandemic, and were not prepared for what was coming at us, to be honest with you,” the former First Minister told the inquiry at Dorland House in London.

“I know that there was a very real concern at the time that the amount of work officials were being asked to do was quite significant, and I’m not suggesting that it didn’t come to the executive for this reason, but it would have certainly slowed decision-making down at that time.”

Ms Foster, who is now the Chairwoman of Intertrade UK, also claimed that the appearance of Sinn Féin officials at Bobby Storey’s funeral, including Michelle O’Neill, led to a fall in compliance.

“There was a breakdown in compliance after the attendance of senior members of SInn Féin at a high-ranking republican funeral at the end of June, which caused severe difficulties in Northern Ireland with compliance and adherence,” Ms Foster said.

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