"There are increasing numbers of people requiring acute care in our hospitals and sadly we learned yesterday of the death of seven people from COVID-19," Foster said.

Hairdressers and salons must also close for one month, though restaurants and pubs can offer takeaway or delivery services.

The restrictions come into force from Friday.

Schools will close for two weeks and people have been asked to avoid unnecessary travel and "work from home unless unable to do so."

Responding to the announcement, industry body Hospitality Ulster warned Foster's administration of "redundancies across the sector" without an "emergency financial package" to support affected businesses.

Angela McGowan, Director of the Northern Ireland branch of the Confederation of British Industry, said that businesses "urgently need to see a strategy for living with COVID-19 to protect both lives and livelihoods."

The government in the neighbouring Republic of Ireland last week tightened curbs on pubs and restaurants to takeaway, delivery or outdoor dining for up to 15 people.

Despite calls for the regimes to be harmonised, Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Wednesday that schools will stay open on the southern side of the border.

Adjacent regions on either side of the frontier have reported the highest incidences of the coronavirus in Britain and Ireland in recent weeks, though the virus appears to be spreading fastest in Northern Ireland.

Almost 7000 people, including a record 1217 on Wednesday, have tested positive in Northern Ireland over the past week - more than south of the border where almost three times as many people live.

A total of 398 people are in hospital after testing positive for the virus, according to combined official figures for both parts of the island, which show 54 people to be receiving intensive care.

Northern Ireland reported two new deaths related to the virus on Wednesday while Ireland's Department of Health on Tuesday reported three deaths.

Australian Associated Press