This weekend, the leaders of the three coalition parties have been locked in with Tony Holohan and Ronan Glynn. Once they have deliberated, the cabinet will join them and the Taoiseach will make a decision on what the country should do next in regards to Covid-19. This will be the most important decision that the Taoiseach has had to make during its tenure and possibly one of the most important decisions that any government has had to make in recent times.
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The medical director, Dr. Tony Holohan, pictured after a meeting with the Taoiseach and senior ministers in government buildings. Image Credit: Frank McGrath
Doctor Tony Holohan, medical director, pictured after a meeting with the Taoiseach and senior ministers in government buildings. Image Credit: Frank McGrath
The stakes could not be higher at this stage of the pandemic. Get it wrong in one direction, that is, moving to Level 5, people could suffer and die due to the economic and mental health consequences. Get it wrong in another direction – that is, not going far enough with the restrictions – and people could suffer and die for other reasons: Covid-19, leading to more deaths or more carriers with debilitating symptoms.
But also, the risk of hospitals overflowing and causing delays or neglect in the treatment of other diseases. Government guidelines on Level 4 state that your priority is to keep schools open. Key features include only allowing essential businesses and outlets to remain open, four guests in addition to the bride and groom at weddings, no sporting events, all museums closed, and 25 percent capacity on public transportation. This will increase further if the government decides to move to Level 5. People will have to stay home and not go further than 5 km from their homes.
Most of the public wants more restrictions and the government has already ignored NPHET’s advice once. The Taoiseach will have to move, the only question is how far. You will also need to explain what might happen next. You have to give the country hope that these measures will lead us to a better place once the likely six weeks expire.
Fundamentally, he will have to bring the country with him. Social cohesion continues to be the only weapon we have against this virus, and the unacceptable growth in cases and hospital admissions is due to non-compliance with the guidelines. One thing is for sure. This virus will not disappear anytime soon and it will spread as long as we leave it. Now is the time for the Taoiseach to tell us what to do and bring us back together, as if we were in the first confinement. The message has to be clear: together we can get this virus back under control as we did in June, while we wait for science to save us.
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Irreverent tone: Professor Luke O’Neill Photo by Ruth Medjber
Irreverent tone: Professor Luke O’Neill Photo by Ruth Medjber
