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The DUP’s Pam Cameron, the deputy chairperson of the committee, asks about councils opening car parks and access to public toilets.

Mr McMahon says in terms of the regulations, public toilets have always been listed in the types of premises that could remain open.

He says he recognises the issue of cleanliness and transmission of disease that toilets can present.

He adds that councils possibly took the decision not to open public toilets based on the practicalities of safety of those using toilets and those cleaning them.

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Alan Chambers of the UUP warns against complacency, which he says is "the big enemy".

In the light of the loosening of restrictions he says he's been contacted by a lot of people asking "if they're allowed to do that, why can I not do this?".

He says it has encouraged an army of "barrack room lawyers with lots of time on their hands".

Mr Chambers asks if he could travel, say, 40 miles to visit a garden centre.

Mr McMahon says there is no limit on travel distance but people are expected to be reasonable.

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People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll asks about the reopening of barbers and tanning services.

He wants to know when will that be, as he says he and many others are in “dire need of a haircut” but questions if it is an essential service.

He has concerns there has been a “hurried approach” to some of the measures.

Nigel McMahon says he understands why "there’s strong feeling out there about reopening" services like barbers.

"Clearly the focus is on public health risk in terms of reopening premises," the official says, adding “it will still come down to risk assessment at the end of the day”.

The department doesn't want to put a date on openings, but Mr McMahon says the regulations "do require us to lift restrictions as soon as we conclude it is safe to do so".

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath asks about personal trainers and gyms reopening. He asks if gyms would "be able to put their gear outside in the car park and work with up to six people in the car park for a fee?".

Would that be permissible under the rules as they stand at the minute?

The department official says, in his view, “I would say that certainly the lifting of the restrictions allows people to carry on outdoor activity and to do that with up to six people from other households".

He says it "potentially provides the opportunity for a personal trainer to take such exercise sessions outdoors”.

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He adds that is it "also permissible to travel for the purposes of work, so a personal trainer could travel to a location for that purpose as well", adding that "the other people involved would be taking exercise".

Mr McMahon raises an area of concern and a "caveat that the executive put on this, was to try and avoid contact with shared hard surfaces and I think it would be the sharing of equipment outdoors, if indeed it is shared, that might be the issue there that would need to be looked at more closely".

"If people were bringing their own mats and gym gear and one thing and another then that’s maybe a different story," he says.

But he emphasises that "one area of concern I would have would be if the gym were actually providing equipment that the participants would then be sharing and that would need to be considered more closely”.

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Órlaithí Flynn of Sinn Féin asks Mr McMahon for a more specific definition of "outdoor activity".

He says the question of outdoor activity is "a difficult one" and there have been lots of discussions about it.

The official says a number of departments were being approached regarding the relaxation of different activities.

He says the difficulty is that if you draw up a list many "10 or 20" more people will come forward.

The decision to take a broader approach was based on public health risk and the recognition that "the risk for somebody being outdoors and taking part in an activity where social distancing is relatively straightforward means that it could be a more generic, broader relaxation", Mr McMahon explains.

Colm Gildernew begins the questions.

The committee chairperson wants to know how the decision process is "linked to the scientific evidence" in relation to the R rate?

Mr McMahon says the process involves the submission of information from other departments "by way of a template".

He says the onus is on individual departments to bring forward proposals for change to the regulations.

As the regulations are the responsibility of the Department of Health, the official says they are then scrutinised from a public health point of view.

He says his department then brings forward a paper to the executive and recommends approval or deferral and provides advice as to why.

"The executive are required to meet at least every three weeks to consider" the regulations, says Mr McMahon, adding that "we would typically need three weeks" to be able to see if any "relaxation has had any obvious impact on the R value".

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Nigel McMahon recaps the coronavirus restrictions.

He notes that the committee has already considered the relaxations to the restrictions on visiting cemeteries and the clarification of the regulations relating to leaving the home for exercise.

Turning to the regulations they are looking at today.

The (Amendment No.2) Regulations made four main changes: to allow places of worship to open for a marriage ceremony where one of the parties is terminally ill, to allow for the opening of council recycling centres, to allow for the opening of garden centres and to clarify that the reference to the auction houses in the regulations does not apply to livestock marts.

The (Amendment No.3) Regulations saw four further changes: to allow places of worship to open for individual prayer, to allow people to take part in an outdoor activity, to allow six people not from the same household to meet outdoors and to allow drive-in church services.

The (Amendment No.4) Regulations saw a single change: to allow drive-in performances of theatre and cinema.

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Colm Gildernew reconvenes the committee meeting after a brief lunch break.

The chair outlines the Statutory Regulations relating to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 that members will be briefed on during the meeting.

He then welcomes department official Nigel McMahon who joins the meeting by audio link.

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The members agree to defer their decision on the regulations and Colm Gildernew, the committee chair, adjourns the meeting for lunch.

It's an all-day sitting, and so he tells members to return to the senate chamber by 13:15.

They'll be getting updates from the department on the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Amendment No.3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020.

Until then, we're off to grab a quick sandwich and a coffee - hopefully you'll join us again in twenty minutes.

Pat Pat Sheehan of Sinn Féin says there seem to be quite a few loopholes in the proposed regulations.

He cites the example of people "coming in from the south" who don't declare that they have come outside the Common Travel Area.

Mr Sheehan says Ms Colgan indicated that facilities will be made available, if needed, for people who were required to self-isolate but those people would have to pay for themselves.

He'd like to know what happens if someone arrives home and discovers their family is self-isolating and they have no money to pay for accommodation.

The official says the department is actively seeking a solution to the problem of non-declarations, although it may not be ready for next week.

On the question of accommodation, she says there may be access to emergency accommodation but she needs to follow this up with the Home Office.

Mr Gildernew says he thinks there was an opportunity to adopt measures more suited to the situation locally rather than lifting the wider model and he thanks the witness for her assistance.

Orlaíthi Flynn of Sinn Féin asks if there will be any physical checks of those coming into the country and who will be responsible for carrying these out.

Elaine Colgan says Border Force are not able to enforce anything other than providing information.

When a person completes the form online, she says, "the intention is they will get an electronic receipt and Border Force will do spot checking to check people are completing it as required".

“There will be some interaction with carriers on that,” she adds.

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People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll asks if the measures can be annulled, or ceased, in less than a year.

He also wants to know if self-isolation at home is advised, or is it enforced?

Ms Colgan says the statute can be annulled at any time before a year if they were no longer deemed necessary.

Turning to self-isolation enforcement provisions, she says the final enforcement policy would be for the executive to determine.

She says “we do foresee that the police will have powers to deal with a breach in some way, whether that's through a fine or a fixed penalty notice” but says she can’t confirm what the exact enforcement measures will be.

Alliance’s Paula Bradshaw raises concerns about families from locations such as Romania, who "come here to work" and raises concerns that in many cases they live in multiple occupancy settings.

Elain Colgan says "that's an important question" for those returning to their home which may not have supplies,

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On multiple occupancy accommodation, she says that as long as the residency is a "home they will be able to self-isolate there".

The official adds that guidance will be given to passengers at check-in and during transit flights advising them what to do if they become symptomatic.

They will also be given information on how to engage with the contact tracing programme in the country.

Colm Gildernew asks about references in Ms Colgan's briefing and reports in the media concerning the Common Travel Area and travellers from France.

"In terms of Ireland being clearly an epidemiological unit but also the island of Britain being a separate epidemiological unit what are the rationale behind that Common Travel Area and France, and where do those both sit at this point in time," he asks.

Ms Colgan says there is no blanket exemption for travellers from France, it only applies to some channel tunnel workers.

She says people can travel freely between Ireland and Britain.

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Mr Gildernew asks what the scientific evidence is for this given that the committee has been told about the need to maximise the benefits of being an island.

The official says "there hasn't been as far as I'm aware scientific consideration within the Common Travel Area at a UK level".

She says she's happy to come back to the committee on that if it would be helpful.

Mr Gildernew says it would be helpful.

Further to another question from the chairperson, Ms Colgan confirms that travellers arriving in the Republic of Ireland do not require to provide a destination address if they are travelling to Northern Ireland.

She says officials are working with their counterparts in the Republic to "try to find a solution in the longer term".

Ms Colgan says Ireland has a paper form but the UK has an online form operated by Border Force.

The committe chairperson then welcomes departmental official Elaine Colgan. She's the chief of staff to the chief medical officer.

Joining by audio link, she provides an overview of the travel regulations which, she says are hoped to come into effect from 8 June.

Ms Colgan says the decision to "implement is based on scientific advice".

She explains that the R rate has declined across the UK and that imported cases "are known to matter most" when there are low levels of community transmission.

She says as the lockdown is eased, the number of cases imported could potentially become higher, and adds that "preventing them can have some benefit" which is "most significant" when there are people "coming in from an area of higher rate of infection than ours".

She says the requirements would cover those arriving from "outside the Common Travel Area" and says these people would have to provide contact details, including where they were travelling to, the address they would be staying at and any further travel they had planned.

This could be done on arrival or in advance of arrival, she adds.

The information would be available to the police and Public Health Agency to "undertake any contact tracing" she says.

The information would be collected by the UK border force and Home Office and outlines that it would be destroyed within a set time frame of arrival in the UK.

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Ms Colgan sats "Northern Ireland is proposing a slightly different approach from the UK" for those travelling though an Irish port to NI.

But says it's important to stress, this will only impact those coming through to NI from areas outside the UK or Ireland.

The regulations may come into effect from Monday 8 June, and will be reviewed every three weeks.

She adds that there is a proposal that the regulations would cease to have effect after one year of coming into operation.

For practical reasons there are certain categories of person who would be exempt from the rules, and Ms Colgan outlines a number of these, including non-UK diplomats, essential border security staff, flight crew, other transport staff and those undertaking essential work as a health professional.

The official adds that there is foresight of some police powers in relation to the regulations and that it's "likely there will be some sort of fine mechanism".

After a 10-minute break the members reassemble for the next item of business.

The committee is scheduled to sit until 17:30 today so they need all the breaks they can get.

Colm Gildernew introduces the discussion of the the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020.

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If adopted this would require people arriving at a port from outside the Common Travel Area to provide contact details, arrival information and details of their onward travel arrangements.

The regulations would also require people arriving in Northern Ireland from places other than Britain or Ireland in the previous 14 days to self-isolate.

This self-isolation period runs for 14 days from the point at which they ended their journey.

"The department advises that given the rapidly-evolving global situation it has been unable to complete the regulatory and equality impacts," Mr Gildernew explains.

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The UUP’s Alan Chambers thanks the panel and asks if they think relationships between social workers and other professionals and those under their care need “a degree of rebuilding as a consequence of the lockdown”.

Alicia Toal says “we have a bit of a mantra in VOYPIC where we say relationships with social workers and with other adults is the golden thread”.

“It’s the one thing that can keep a young person safe and offer them some stability,” she adds.

Ms Toal talks about the new way of interacting through digital platforms, and says that while it will not replace face-to-face meetings, it has enhanced it.

Kathleen Toner of Fostering Network NI and Michelle James from Barnardo’s both agree.

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Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit asks the panel about delays in allocations of social workers for young people and whether there is an "expectation" it could be worse as the pandemic continues.

Michelle James says in terms of an extended review period, the concern is "less frequent reviews would allow care plans to drift".

She says, "it’s been known for quite a while there are significant staffing challenges".