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The World Health Organization (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, Dr. David Nabarro, warned that there will be “many illnesses and deaths in Ireland in the next two months” if people are not careful.
He said Ireland should focus on getting everyone to adhere to preventive measures. Dr. Nabarro told Newstalk Breakfast that there was a middle way between a complete lockdown and the easing of restrictions. A national blockade should only be considered when the numbers are “very bad.”
He also said he did not like fines (for non-compliance with regulations), he said he preferred that people choose to do the right thing.
A robust testing, tracking, and isolating system was needed in each county so that outbreaks could be identified and treated as they emerged. A financial support system was also necessary so that people did not fear losing money if they did not go to work because they were ill.
High government figures have emphasized that there were no immediate plans for a brief shutdown, known as a “circuit breaker,” despite deterioration in coronavirus metrics over the weekend.
Regional restrictions, rather than a national lockdown, may be the next step for the government to take if steps need to be taken to stop the drastic increase in cases.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Sunday urged the public to change their behaviors so that “we can make Level 3 work, protect lives and livelihoods” and stop the spread of Covid-19.
Dr. Nabarro said that not going from Level 3 to Level 5 was risky, he said. It would be from a month to six weeks before it was known if that had been the “right way”.
Dr. Nabarro pointed out that there has been a real accumulation of the virus in other parts of Europe, there was no reason to believe that Ireland was going to escape.
“If you are going to stay at Level 3, do everything you can to stop the spread of the virus,” he urged.
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