Ireland needs to act quickly on coronavirus to avoid being the next Italy
If there is one country you don’t want to be compared with right now it’s Italy.
However, acting Health Minister Simon Harris has become one of a growing number of people suggesting we might well end up like the worst Covid-19-affected country in Europe.
In just three weeks, for example, more than 366 people have died there.
And a vast swathe of the country taking in 16 million people is now in lockdown, with roads in and out guarded by police backed by armed soldiers.
Mr Harris admitted: “There is a moderate risk we will follow a pattern seen in other EU countries and that is what we are preparing and those who are working around the clock for.”
At the time he made those comments on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland,
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It has since been cancelled but like other emigrants, she has experienced first hand Italy’s apocalyptic transformation.
As part of the lockdown until April 3, roads in and out of Lombardy and 14 other northern Italian provinces are blocked.
News of the lockdown leaked to the media before the roads were closed, and a number managed to flee to neighbouring regions by midnight last Friday.
As well as roads, all ports and train stations are blocked and bars and restaurants, where tables have to be at least one metre apart, close at 6pm.
And while the healthcare system is considered to be excellent, beds are filling to capacity and the rate of infection is spreading quickly.
“Having seen what has happened here in Italy, we here in northern Italy are in the same position as Ireland is now about three weeks ago,” Ms Hurley told RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke.
There were a small amount of cases and a small amount of deaths and then suddenly it got worse and then suddenly it got completely out of control.
She said Ireland needs to “get on top of” the crisis “immediately”.
She said the country needs to “look at what happened in Italy and try and shut down before things get out of control like they did here”.
“Health professionals here are literally screaming at us now to please, please stay home.
“They have asked all companies to allow people who can work from home to work from home in order to reduce the net people on public transport.
“They have shut down the schools, they have shut down the cinemas, and they have shut down all sports just to stop the contagion.
“The contagion is huge and we are all very careful about not touching other people, keeping your hands very clean.
“The message has finally got through but Ireland can take advantage of what has happened here and act sooner I would have thought,” she said.
Whether or not Ireland, one of at least 27 countries where the origins of Covid-19 infections can be traced back to the north of Italy, do end up like the country remains to be seen.
Professor James McInerney, an Irish-born expert in molecular evolution, also told Morning Ireland: “There is no reason to think that Ireland and Italy are so difficult.
“Ireland’s future is not so different from Italy,” he said.
