The Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she accepts that Level 5 restrictions nationwide "may sadly be necessary".

It comes as the Cabinet is considering moving the country to the highest level of restrictions for a period of six weeks.

Ms McDonald said that while she is not privy to the same amount of expert information as the Government, she said that the extra measures may be needed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking on The Hard Shoulder, she said: "I accept that measures up to and including Level 5 may sadly be necessary.

"Just bear in mind that the Government has had the benefit of in-depth briefings from NPHET, from the experts, not just the epidemiologists but immunologists, all the different disciplines and they have gone through it with a fine-tooth comb, I presume.

"They have looked at every angle, asked every imaginable question.

"As the opposition, we don't have that facility so I would be misleading you and your listeners if I was to say that I was working with complete information, I'm not."

Ms McDonald added that the way in which new restrictions were being announced was causing a lot of anxiety for people.

She said: "The way this is playing out is really unhelpful for lots of people.

"There's an air of ominous suspense hanging over the land until the Government decides what to do next.

"I appreciate that this is a very big decision and it has to be taken in a fully informed and balanced way, but I think the manner in which this has been dragged out over the weekend and into tonight has caused huge anxiety for people.

"What we need to hear from the Government this evening is whatever measures they have decided on based on the information they have, I think they need to set out the rationale for them, the reason why these particular measures have been taken, what they hope to achieve with them and when, and crucially, we need to hear what additional supports are on offer.

She added: "I think there's a problem with the fact that a framework plan on different levels, that was supposed to bring clarity and an amount of certainty to people has been departed from.

"All of us know that we are at a point of real difficulty in terms of the transmission of this virus, the data doesn't lie."

An announcement by Government on the new restrictions is expected later this evening.