Hospital admissions are rising across the region but “very gently” with around 100 people in hospital at the moment, compared to 1,000 in April last year.
Debbie Stark NHS regional director of public health said: “People are mixing more and are going to continue to mix more so cases are going to rise.”
“There is always the possibility of a variant of this virus that we haven’t seen yet and I think we need to accept that we’re not in a position where we can say there is no risk - that’s where common sense comes into this.
“Just because the rules say you can do something doesn’t mean you must.