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The Taoiseach has defended the Government\u2019s plan to reduce Covid-19 cases after it introduced new restrictions on travel and extended the lockdown.<\/p>\nThe Taoiseach has defended the Government\u2019s plan to reduce Covid-19 cases after it introduced new restrictions on travel and extended the lockdown.<\/p>\n
Miche\u00e1l Martin said he will do \u201cwhatever it takes\u201d to keep numbers down, telling the D\u00e1il there will be \u201cno half measures\u201d to ensure a \u201cprolonged suppression\u201d of Covid-19.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin was responding to criticism from the leader of the Opposition, Mary Lou McDonald.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to make a very clear that there will be no half measures from me as Taoiseach, or from Government, in ensuring a prolonged suppression of this virus,\u201d Mr Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do whatever it takes to keep the numbers down once we get the numbers down, and we are achieving that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Government on Tuesday announced that Ireland\u2019s third lockdown is to be extended until March 5th, and also introduced tighter travel restrictions.<\/p>\n
The new measures include mandatory quarantine at a designated facility for people who arrive in Ireland without a negative PCR test taken in the past 72 hours. All passengers entering the country will be subject to mandatory quarantine \u2014 a change from the policy of voluntary self-isolation.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin told the D\u00e1il that Ireland cannot allow daily cases to return to the levels of recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we have now which we didn\u2019t have last year is the vaccination. The evidence base for the vaccines is they prevent mortality and they prevent illness,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that will give us choices towards mid-year when we will have significant numbers vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be a prolonged suppression of the virus. But the key measure is human behavior, human behavior is what stops the spread of the virus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in president Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of introducing half measures, and criticized the Government\u2019s quarantine plans, saying all arrivals on the island should be forced to isolate for 14 days.<\/p>\n
Contradiction and confusion between ministers was rife and clarity and certainty was in very scarce supply<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we got is a Government that is clearly at sixes and sevens, with no idea of how to proceed beyond March 5th,\u201d The Dublin Central TD said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Government that yet again has failed to prepare, failed to consult and failed to plan. So instead of a real plan, you have presented half measures that simply don\u2019t go far enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt your press conference, contradiction and confusion between ministers was rife and clarity and certainty was in very scarce supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis absence of urgency, of leadership and plain common sense, quite frankly, has caused huge alarm for many people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms McDonald said the \u201cbiggest mess\u201d from the Government’s announcement was its proposals on international travel, which she said \u201cnot only goes against public health advice, it goes against common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a system of mandatory quarantine. It is in fact one of voluntary self-isolation and you propose to send people back to homes and other accommodation with other people \u2014 people who may be going out to work, people who will go into our shops and stores and therefore risk the spreading of this virus,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat to me is absolutely crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly earlier said that September remains the \u201caspiration\u201d to have every person in the country vaccinated, despite issues around supply.<\/p>\n
He said the vaccination program is \u201cgoing well\u201d, but delays to the supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine could hamper the Government\u2019s timeframe.<\/p>\n
Separately on Wednesday, a Government official said there was “no shame” in contracting Covid-19 amid soaring community transmission rates.<\/p>\n
One in every 76 people in Ireland had now received a positive diagnosis for the disease, assistant secretary general at the Department of the Taoiseach, Elizabeth Canavan said.<\/p>\n
A further 90 deaths and 928 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the Republic on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll in the Republic to more than 3,000.<\/p>\n
Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, said more Covid-19 cases had been reported in the month of January than all of 2020.<\/p>\n