FURTHER EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE CRISIS
WHEN coronavirus began to take hold in Europe, most especially in Italy, it occurred to me that this was one issue where every single nation on the continent should pull together, as one.
The fact that a virus like this has no respect for borders highlighted, in my mind, the stupidity of Brexit. Little did I think, a week or two later, that despite the exhortations of the World Health Organisation and the EU, Britain and Northern Ireland would adopt a very different reaction to the crisis from the rest of us.
EU member states have taken differing measures, depending on how the crisis is taking hold in their respective countries. But, any divergences in this regard are merely a matter of timing. The European Commission was out early, reassuring its member states that it would quickly respond in solidarity with its members.
In contrast, the British government, it seems, wants to ‘go it alone’. For instance, its ministers maintained, so far, that banning large-scale gatherings, as has happened in most of Europe, would not be effective in preventing the spread of the disease. Apparently, they are adopting this attitude based on the advice of their experts, who predicted that the outbreak would not peak until about 14 weeks from now, and that, therefore, it would be better to delay taking drastic measures until they are really needed.
Superior
Their experts are also suggesting that, by reacting in this way, it would be more beneficial for UK citizens, in that they could build up some sort of ‘herd immunity’ to the virus, in the long-term.
The difference between the UK and here, in their respective responses, was very well portrayed in a text I received last week.
It showed two different front pages, one from the UK Daily Mail, the other from the Irish Daily Mail, on the same day.
The headline in the British newspaper used a quote from Boris Johnson: ‘Many loved ones will die.’
In contrast, the message showed on the front page of the Irish Daily Mail quoted Taoiseach Leo Varadkar saying: ‘Together we can save many lives’ – clearly, a difference of emphasis.
While I don’t for one minute suggest that the British government is any less worried about this crisis, I do feel that the leadership being shown by our Government is far superior to that coming from the British government. People here were rightly aghast at the fact that the British authorities allowed Cheltenham to proceed.
The British government’s muted response was in stark contrast to that taken by this State and, indeed most of the rest of Europe. Its relatively relaxed strategy regarding large gatherings began to unravel as more and more high-profile cases of the virus began to emerge in the UK, not least from football’s Premier League.
As Premier League team members were being diagnosed with the virus, decisions to cancel events were being made from the bottom, rather than from the top. In other words, the various sporting codes were ignoring government advice and making their own decisions.
Something similar happened in the US where the golfing fraternity unilaterally decided to wrap up The Players competition after just one day.
In the US, no real direction was given by Trump’s government until most of the decisions to cancel had been taken by the respective sporting codes.
The difference in governments’ reaction to the crisis is nowhere more stark than as between the Republic and Northern Ireland, particularly regarding the closing of schools.
The Irish Government decreed that all schools close, whereas the British government has not yet taken this action.
This means that, particularly in the border areas, students on the south side are off school, whereas nearby students in the North are still being told to go to their classes.
The question arises, does closing schools and universities help to avoid the spread of this disease? There have been many studies regarding the differences between what are called ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’ school closures for viruses such as this.
One such study analysed data regarding the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which showed that proactive school closing saved substantial numbers of lives at the time.
Naturally, a lot depends on the type of virus we are dealing with, but it seems logical that by getting children removed from circulation, it will not just keep the children safe, but it will also keep the wider community safe.
Against that, since the schools have been closed here, I have seen hordes of young people walking and congregating around my hometown, something clearly not envisaged when the decision was made.
In response to this, our health experts have quickly exhorted families to act correctly and practically by avoiding unnecessary social interaction as much as possible.
The decision to close schools would be futile if the students merely used it as an opportunity to get together as if there were nothing to worry about.
This may very well have been behind the decision by the UK authorities not to close the schools, even though it seems, ultimately, that they will close all educational facilities.
Pandemic
It appears that our Government slipped up when it didn’t liaise with the Northern Executive regarding its decision last week to close schools and ban large gatherings.
As I know only too well from my time in government, sometimes when a crisis is evolving rapidly, it is very difficult to tick every box.
This apparent error was quickly rectified through both administrations meeting at the North/ South ministerial council on Saturday. However, despite the meeting, the Northern authorities seem to be sticking with the British government’s plan.
Mr Varadkar correctly stated that this virus ‘recognises no borders’. More than ever, we all need to be pulling together to lessen the effects of the pandemic.
A united European-wide fight to deal with this crisis is, in my opinion, far more preferable than the disjointed reaction we have witnessed to date.