Selfish party-goers will lengthen the time coronavirus lockdown restrictions remain for all of us in Northern Ireland

Churches can now open for private prayer. Golf and tennis can restart. Drive-in cinemas, concerts and theatres will be allowed.

Compare and contrast the small, careful steps that Stormont is taking towards normality with the scenes of recklessness we witnessed at the weekend in a Belfast city-centre apartment complex.

Images of party-goers at the Obel Tower 64 complex in Donegall Quay drew the ire of Mrs Foster and Mrs O'Neill.

"I have to say that was an incredible picture to look at, the fact that people were partying, it was almost like a nightclub scene," said the First Minister.

"These people are reckless and are quite possibly spreading the Covid-19 virus in Belfast.

"I think it was wrong and they should look to themselves and really ask themselves the question - are they putting people's lives at risk? In my view, they are."

The deputy First Minister was wholly on the same page.

Such actions were "totally unacceptable" and could actually "kill people", she said.

The police were called to the apartments on Saturday. The problem is that they are likely to be called again and again to similar situations.

While such scenes led to condemnation from our politicians - and the vast majority of the public - there are those out there whose only thought will be one of regret that they missed the party.

Mrs Foster and Mrs O'Neill announced that groups of up to six people who don't share a household in Northern Ireland will be allowed to meet outdoors.

But I know people who are already breaking and bending the rules and meeting indoors, and they are certainly not all young.

That was always going to be a problem from the moment lockdown was eased even minimally. Many folk thought 'it's the beginning of the end' and decided they would start to return to normal and set their own pace.

The difficulty is that this is not like most other healthcare situations where you usually are taking risks with only your own life.

With coronavirus, your choices can directly harm a significant number of people. You are imposing the risks you take on others.

The fact that people can have the virus and spread it while asymptomatic means there is a huge duty on us all to act responsibly. If we don't we are gambling with other people's lives.

To downplay the potential harm caused because the person who will likely suffer it is elderly, has high blood pressure or diabetes smacks of social Darwinism.

Hopes of an imminent vaccine fell yesterday as it was revealed that all the monkeys that took part in the Oxford trial contracted coronavirus.

Those partying in Obel Tower are not just acting selfishly, they're also acting against their own long-term interests. Because a second-wave of Covid-19 will only lengthen the time restrictions are in place for all of us.

There is no quick fix for some things. Patience and persistence pay off. Everyone on Mumsnet knows that.