First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster has said Northern Ireland will not adopt the UK government's new coronavirus slogan, instead sticking with the "Stay at home, save lives" message.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dropped his stricter message as he unveiled his plans to ease the UK lockdown in a broadcast to the nation.
He is now telling the public to "stay at home as much as possible", keep two metres apart when going out and "limit contact" with other people.
But the government's efforts to maintain a unified UK-wide response to the pandemic seemed to be in jeopardy as the devolved administrations rejected his message.
Ahead of a Cobra meeting with Mr Johnson, the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said they had not been consulted over the "stay alert, control the virus and save lives" slogan.
The Northern Ireland Executive will consider its plan for a phased, strategic approach to recovery at its meeting tomorrow ahead of outlining its own coronavirus road map this week.
Mrs Foster said: "People across Northern Ireland have listened and acted on the public health advice over the last six weeks. They have stayed at home, kept their distance and washed their hands and because of that, they have saved lives.
"We have flattened the curve of infection, reduced the R-rate to below one and protected our health service but we are not out of the woods yet. It is important that we continue to follow this advice.
She added: "As the Executive begins to finalise our plans for recovery, we need to strike the balance between continuing to protect lives and the health service and give people hope for the future.
"The changes that we will introduce will be gradual, proportionate and based on scientific and medical advice and will be taken at the right time and in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland."
In a tweet this evening Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "Society has changed beyond all recognition over the past six weeks as people have followed the advice to stay at home and save lives. That remains the message.
"As an Executive we know it has been tough and we understand the impact the regulations are having on what was once our normal lives."
Opposition politicians criticised the message as being ambiguous and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the first she had heard of "the PM's new slogan" was in newspaper reports.
The Sunday papers is the first I've seen of the PM’s new slogan. It is of course for him to decide what’s most appropriate for England, but given the critical point we are at in tackling the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage. https://t.co/zrnEgTC15H
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 10, 2020
"It is of course for him to decide what's most appropriate for England, but given the critical point we are at in tackling the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage," she tweeted.
Ms Sturgeon said the only changes he would be making to lockdown measures in Scotland would be to allow people to exercise more than once a day from tomorrow.
"We do not, at this point, want to see more businesses opening up or more people going to work," she told a news conference.
She added that her government would assess over the coming week whether it was possible to extend the range of permitted outdoor activities, reopen garden centres and allow some outdoor work to resume.
In a video statement, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford stressed that the advice had "not changed in Wales".
The Prime Minister has set out his changes to the lockdown rules in England.
— Mark Drakeford (@fmwales) May 10, 2020
I set out the position for Wales on Friday.
Our message remains the same - Staying at home is the best way to protect yourself and others. pic.twitter.com/qi8DKEQsRq
"This evening, the Prime Minister has set out the minor changes, which are proposed to the lockdown rules in England over the next three weeks," Mr Drakeford said.
"I set out the modest changes to the stay-at-home regulations we are making in Wales on Friday. These will come into force tomorrow afternoon.
"Here in Wales, we will change the regulations so people can exercise more often and allow garden centres to open, if they can comply with social distancing.
"Our advice has not changed in Wales."
He said people in Wales must stay at home wherever possible, and remain "local" if they need to leave home for work, exercise or shopping.
Mr Drakeford added that schools in Wales would not "return to normal" on 1 June.
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