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INTEGRAL: After a significant relaxation of the measures during Christmas, the contagion situation in Ireland turned around at the beginning of the new year. The country, among other things, will face challenges related to importing infections at the border with Northern Ireland. Photo: Lise Åserud / SCANPIX
In just a few weeks, Ireland went from having the lowest growth in infections in the EU to having the highest spread of infections in the world. Infectious tsunami, is the Prime Minister’s own word on development.
Ireland, with just under 5 million inhabitants, has received applause for the way in which the country’s authorities have handled the first two waves of pandemics.
In December, the incidence of infection was the lowest in the EU after the country became the first member state to implement the second shutdown.
But in the following weeks and into the new year, the growth of infections has increased considerably.
On January 8, they reached a new infection record, with 8227 newly infected, VG’s corona summary shows. Three days later, Ireland was the country in the world with the highest prevalence of infection relative to population, ahead of both the Czech Republic and Slovenia.
By the weekend, they had recorded a total of 2,536 crown-related deaths. But only during Saturday, they have been able to add another 59 deaths.
How did the country fare so badly that it has long been able to boast of its good infection management?
The answer may appear to lie in the prior facilitation of measures and a tense border conflict.
– Infectious Tsunami
As early as last week, Prime Minister Micheál Martin’s words showed signs of despair:
– Health personnel are facing a tsunami of infection, he said then.
On January 12, Switzerland decided to introduce quarantine for visitors to Ireland. Switzerland’s decision came after the World Health Organization (WHO) rated the rise in the incidence of infections in Ireland among the most acute in the world.
The Irish health service has warned that the capacity of hospitals has exploded. On Tuesday, 1,700 people were hospitalized with coronavirus, which is almost double the highest level during the first pandemic wave last year.
The third closure was introduced on December 30 and will last for at least one month. Measures include closed schools, closed hotels and services, and closed doors to all non-essential businesses.
“Unless you are doing extremely essential work, you have no reason to be away from home,” Martin continued.
MISSING: Prime Minister Micheál Martin gave relief to his citizens as a Christmas present. It probably costs more than you knew for the Irish, who are now hit by a powerful wave of infections.
Wanted to save Christmas, ended up with an infection log
Just a few weeks earlier, Ireland was one of the countries that made the most progress in removing virus-related restrictions, to give people a break during the Christmas holidays.
Pubs, restaurants, gyms, hair salons and stores reopened in December.
The government’s decision is alleged to have been contrary to the advice of a committee of experts appointed by the Ministry of Health and providing the government with advice on how the corona pandemic should be managed. The committee had recommended that the current stricter measures be maintained.
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The government took another step at the end of December. They then removed various restrictions on how many could be gathered in one place.
The goal was to give people what Martin called “a meaningful Christmas,” but subsequent infection figures may have broken the prime minister’s good wishes.
Ireland’s health director Tony Holohan has said the easing of restrictions in December caused a significant shift in people’s socialization pattern. Socialization among the people returned to the level before the outbreak of the pandemic, contributing to the wave of infection the country is now in, according to Holohan.
Mutated virus leak from neighboring country
Ireland has now also reported a growth in infection from the new variant of the mutated virus that was first identified in neighboring Britain.
On Monday, January 11, health authorities released statistics showing that the new variant of the mutated virus accounted for 45 percent of all new detected cases of infection.
To prevent spread from the neighboring country, Ireland introduced the requirement of a negative coronate test at the border.
But the Irish media have pointed out that the unique cross-border system between Ireland and Northern Ireland may have made it difficult to prevent the spread of the mutated variant of the virus.
The 500-kilometer border has contributed to the conflict for years.
The subject has been too sensitive from a political point of view for the authorities to want to close the border in relation to the measures of the crown.
