Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan has said Stormont officials are planning potential further restrictions that may be needed when the Omicron variant is expected to become dominant in the country early next year.
Mr Givan said the transmission rate of the variant is causing concern in Great Britain.
The DUP minister said Northern Ireland was "behind the curve" and should be able to "get through the next number of weeks" before Omicron becomes dominant in the country.
"We don't need to be panicking but we do need to recognise that what we are being advised is that this new variant is going to become a challenge for us in Northern Ireland early in the new year and we need to be ready for that," he said.
"So preparation is taking place. That's what some of the discussion will be at the Executive today, so that we have all of this thought through in terms of what may be necessary.
"That's why I've said 'don't panic' but we, as leaders of the Executive, need to make sure that proper preparedness is in place and we look at a range of scenarios and ... it is prudent for us to be considering these things."
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill it was likely that Omicron will interrupt lives in Northern Ireland.
"We want to avoid introducing restrictions, we want to keep people open and safe," she said.
"We want to take the pressure off the health service but, ultimately, I think it's inevitable that at some point the Omicron variant is going to cause difficulties for our health service but also economically because I think it is going to interrupt lives if it spreads in the way in which it potentially can, and the evidence shows from elsewhere that it will spread rapidly.
"So that will have an impact in terms of services, I would imagine. But we're working to try to avoid introducing restrictions. We don't want to be in that space. But we do think that by early in the new year this strain will be the dominant strain."
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