Leadership is required now, and will politicians please just put on a mask
Micheal Martin needs to talk directly and urgently to us as Covid-19 infection levels appear to be rising again, writes
AND so the R0 number has climbed back to one or just over one and Nphet is concerned about the potential for new Covid cases rising — as indeed are the rest of us.
The R0 number is the number of cases that one new case of Covid infects. If the R0 is below one, then each case infects less than one person and the virus dies out in our communities. If it’s above one, each case is infecting more than one — it’s more than reproducing itself — and the virus is once more spreading.
But we are at a crossroads here. I’ve no doubt there are public health experts who will want us now to crush the curve and re-enter lockdown. This has never been my preference as I believe we’re too leaky a sieve and we could half-destroy our economy and ourselves attempting to eliminate Covid here only to have it re-emerge anyway.
And then there are those who want the economy back fully open — irrespective of what Covid is doing. Well, we’ve seen that model clearly in America. States reopening their economies while cases climb unchecked has resulted in widespread disaster.
Take Arizona — it has a population of 7.3 million as compared to our island of Ireland which has 6.8 million. It now has 113,000 confirmed cases of Covid as compared to our 30,000. In fact, it had over 30,000 new cases in the past week alone, compared to us having 90. So that’s no way forward either. But is there not a third way?
Yes, I believe there is. It’s not a given that we either open up with total abandon or we lock down fully once more. Yes, scenes last weekend of throngs of people outside pubs were worrying. But I do understand the impulse to celebrate being able to see friends and family again.
We were cut off from each other for so long but what people now need is real leadership around modifying their behaviour appropriately — so they can go out and about but minimise the risk to themselves and others. Navigating our way out of lockdown was always going to be more challenging than just imposing it. So with that R0 number climbing, where do we go from here? Give Leo Varadkar his due; he may have put some dodgy quotes into his speeches but he was out front and centre regularly, guiding and reassuring us about where we were going.
It feels to be now that our new Taoiseach is being distracted by drink-driving debacles and junior ministries while Covid hasn’t gone away.
We need Micheal Martin to talk directly and quickly to us about the concerns the Government and Nphet have about the worrying trends we’re seeing.
Travel
Two thirds of new cases in Ireland are related to travel. Some travel is essential and even those who travelled for holidays were in many cases going to lose thousands of euro if they didn’t go. I don’t blame people who went away because there’s been a total lack of political guidance on this, leaving folk caught between the aviation industry and public health.
What we need is a list of green countries’ stats — if they still exist — and clear, enforced quarantine where required.
We also need to ban incoming traffic from Covid hotspots, in case that quarantine fails. Nobody from America, Brazil and a host of other countries should be holidaying in Ireland at the minute.
Young people
Three quarters of new cases are under people aged 25. We need a new campaign now aimed directly at young people on the platforms they use. This should explain that Covid isn’t over, can rise again and this time it’s targeting the young. Young people were hit hard by lockdown. It is unnatural as a teen or a person in your 20s to be kept away from your pals. Hormones dictate almost everything at that stage and they were struggling as a result. But they’re not stupid — we need to push the social distancing messaging again because it has become lost in this group.
Masks
Mask up. Simple as that. Anywhere you are indoors with other people, masks should be mandatory. You should no longer be allowed into a shop, office, petrol station, cinema, bus or anywhere else without one. Far fewer people are unable to wear one than we’re hearing about — and visors are mostly available for those who can’t. So almost everyone should have some kind of face covering. Lower the age for kids wearing them too.
I’ve a 10 year old. He’s worn a mask. It’s no big deal.
Hygiene
In case it doesn’t go without saying, keep washing your hands and practicing cough etiquette; take that as a constant.
The HSE app
All this hinges on test and trace. If that isn’t fast — and we’re talking 24 to 48 hours — we’re in trouble. The new HSE app allows contact tracers to rapidly inform people you may not know but who were sitting next to you in a bar or a restaurant while you were infectious that they are at risk and need to self-isolate.
It is a game-changer in terms of shutting down the spread. And if it’s a choice between downloading it or locking down again, I know which I’d choose.
Activity
Congregating indoors with large numbers of other people, especially if loud talking or singing are involved, is the highest risk activity.
We may need to look again at the numbers of people who are allowed to congregate in a group. We should also make sure people realise these are the highest risks. You may need to think twice about some of the things you were hoping to do, particularly if you’re vulnerable.
We are at an important juncture here. I can’t tell if we locked down for too long and now lockdown fatigue has eroded people’s motivation. Or if we didn’t lock down for long enough, so people now think the storm has passed.
Personal responsibility is hugely important. But the new Government needs to stop naval-gazing and needs to get out the message that if we mess up how we deal with this now, it’ll either mean huge case numbers or another lockdown.
And I don’t believe we have another lockdown in us. Action and leadership is required right away. Oh, and please politicians, will you put on a bloody mask.
‘You may need to think twice about things you hope to do’