Northern Ireland is expected to outline plans for a second full lockdown later.
It's due to last four weeks, with schools closing for two.
The Stormont Executive met last night for talks with the result believed to be an agreement that pubs and restaurants will close - while there will be an extended two-week break for schools at Halloween.
It comes after a severe rise in Covid-19 cases in the past couple of weeks with 863 infections announced in the North yesterday.
A formal announcement is expected to be made during a special sitting of the Assembly later this morning.
Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Officer has warned Ireland is now dealing with 'widespread' community transmission of Covid-19.
Dr Tony Holohan says it has become 'a whole population issue' and has appealed to every individual, family and workplace to act on public health advice.
811 new cases of the virus have been confirmed - spread across all counties.
