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Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots (DUP) has stated that he had no intention of offending his Catholic friends and neighbors, in an attempt to clarify earlier comments that Covid-19 rates are much higher. in nationalist than unionist areas.
In recent days, Poots has been under pressure to apologize for his comments that there is greater transmission of the virus, at a rate of six to one, in nationalist areas than in unionist ones.
He was accused by Sinn Féin of seeking to “sectarianize” the coronavirus crisis. The North’s medical director, Dr. Michael McBride, said there was no evidence of a link between infection rates and political or religious identity.
Poots, in his original remarks, said “a lot of the problems started” after Republican leader Bobby Storey’s funeral in West Belfast in June.
“The people of that community saw the breaking of the rules. So there is a difference between the nationalist and unionist areas, and the difference is around six to one, ”Mr. Poots said.
On Wednesday afternoon, amid ongoing controversy over these comments, Mr. Poots issued a statement offering clarification, but not an apology.
He said that in recent days, “Sinn Féin and others have tried to distort and twist” the comments he made.
‘Behavior problems’
“At no time did I attribute the spread of Covid-19 to religion. It is deeply regrettable that such a narrative was created, ”he said.
“It is obvious that such spread is related to behavior problems, nothing more and nothing less. I appreciate my Catholic friends and neighbors. I would never intentionally use words that might offend them, “he added.
“Covid-19 is transmitted by bad behavior such as that exemplified at Bobby Storey’s funeral,” said Mr. Poots.
The Department of Health, in its daily bulletin on Wednesday afternoon, reported 1,039 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total for Northern Ireland to 29,992. There were five more deaths after the Covid-19 infection, bringing the total to 629.
There are currently 289 patients treated for Covid in Northern Ireland hospitals, 32 in intensive care units and 26 on ventilators.
The incidence of the virus in the worst affected area of Northern Ireland, Derry and Strabane, continues to decline. During the past seven days, the area experienced 670 cases per 100,000 residents. The figure was 992 cases a week ago.
The seven-day figure for Belfast, the next highest area, is 510 per 100,000, while the average in the north is 361 per 100,000.
Northern Health Minister Robin Swann said “extremely difficult decisions” had to be made when introducing restrictions to combat the virus.
Play number
He was responding to a dispute over an official scientific article that estimated that closing hair and beauty salons could only reduce the virus’s R or reproduction number by 0.05. He also estimated that the closure of pubs and restaurants could decrease it by between 0.1 and 0.2.
Health officials said the four-week period of restrictions imposed last week is designed to reduce the R number below one to see a decrease in the incidence of the virus. It is now estimated to be around 1.4 or 1.5.
This prompted former DUP Minister and Belfast Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Simon Hamilton to tweet: “Why did ministers shut down hospitality and close contact with retail when they knew it would have such a low impact on the R number, a high impact on income and a disproportionate effect on the poor and women? ”
Swann and Northern Scientific Director Professor Ian Young defended the decision. “An alternative to the Executive’s specific and time-limited approach to restrictions would be to return to the total lockdown. I don’t think any of us want that, ”said the minister.
Professor Young said the goal was to reduce the R rate for Northern Ireland by 0.5. “There is no single or simple intervention that will accomplish this, and the cumulative impact of a variety of different constraints, although limited by themselves, is the only way we can achieve this goal,” he said.
Professor Young added: “A reduction of 0.05 may seem small in itself, but an R of 0.98, as opposed to 1.03, will ensure that cases will decrease and the pressures on hospitals will be reduced. The impact of that over the course of a few weeks will likely be hundreds of cases. So even these small numbers, especially when R is close to one, can make a huge difference. “
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