Republic’s Covid infection rate ‘is highest in world’
Taoiseach defends handling of virus before Christmas
THE Republic had the highest rate of Covid-19 infection in the world yesterday over the previous seven days, it has emerged.
It comes as the Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he is “not ashamed” of his government’s handling of Covid-19 before Christmas.
The Irish Republic had 10,100 confirmed cases per million people in the week before yesterday, according to the latest data released by Bloomberg and collated by Johns Hopkins, the WHO and other organisations.
This rate makes the Republic the most Covid-infected nation in the world in the past week.
There were 1,575 in hospital with the virus yesterday afternoon, with 146 in intensive care units.
The latest sample of 92 positive tests examined by the National Virus Reference Lab shows that 45% of positive cases are of the UK variant, showing the strain’s ever-growing presence in Ireland.
The Taoiseach said the Irish government accepted its responsibility when it came to the rapid increase of cases after the easing of restrictions, but pointed the finger towards increased socialisation and the presence of the UK variant as the real drivers of the spread of Covid-19.
Mr Martin said his government has “always responded effectively” to the latest surges despite incidence rates now being higher in the Republic than any other country in Europe, the UK or the US — the worst hit country in the world.
Speaking with Pat Kenny on Newstalk Radio, the Taoiseach refuted the claims that the Republic engaged in three weeks of freedom before Christmas with a view to having three months of a lockdown afterwards.
“It’s not as simple as that. We had been in a very prolonged period of restrictions of one kind or the other and coming into December period we had six weeks of Level 5.
“The socialisation that emerged in December alongside the new variants, and as Prof Paul Moynagh pointed out, don’t underestimate the seasonality of this virus”.
While it was pointed out to the Taoiseach that opening the restaurants and gastropubs created the “perfect environment for the virus to spread”, Mr Martin said that households gave the virus just as good an opportunity.
The Taoiseach said it was clear to government towards early December that the public’s patience with lockdown measures were beginning to wear thin and “compliance was weakening.”
“There are various levels to which you can impose restrictions on people and that became clear to us in the last two weeks of [Level 5 lockdown before Christmas]. It would be very simplistic to focus on one area,” the Taoiseach said, adding that the hospitality sector being open appeared to only have an effect of 0.2 on the R rate.
Mr Martin refused to accept that there were mixed messages from government as citizens were asked to isolate before meeting loved ones at Christmas while travellers were free to enter Ireland without producing a negative test result.
The Taoiseach insisted that “the measures worked” as the levels of the disease were low in early December and added it is “very difficult” to seal the border.