A leading health expert thinks it is too "premature" to end mask wearing in hospital settings.
The universal use of facemasks in healthcare settings is set to be relaxed next week.
The mandatory use of personal protective equipment was introduced during the pandemic.
Professor Anthony Staines says hospitals should continue to wear masks:
"At the moment there is a new variant of Covid-19, which is spreading widely in the United States and India. We don't know whether it's going to spread here. We have a substantial burden of Covid-19 already. And hospitals are places where people at really highest risk of Covid-19 are gathered."
