After endless weeks of strict containment related to Covid-19, it would appear that Ireland is now on the right track. The figures are encouraging: there has been a marked decrease in deaths and hospital admissions due to coronavirus. A trend which demonstrates the effectiveness of the containment currently in place… and which would already allow the Irish government to envisage a return to normal by the end of the summer… provided that the Irish remain cautious, and that the vaccination campaign continues….
This is a first in 2021: Ireland recorded no coronavirus-related deaths in a 24-hour period. This is an encouraging signal, which, coupled with a significant drop in hospital tension, suggests that the Emerald Isle will be able to better control the health crisis.
It must be said that Ireland was taken by surprise: initially described as a good pupil for the year 2020, the situation suddenly escaped them at the end of the Christmas holidays. The explosion of cases, coupled with the British variants had then plunged it into a dramatic situation: the country was now recording the highest rate of contamination in the world!
Since then, Ireland has managed to recover, by establishing a strict containment. Schools are closed, teleworking is compulsory, and non-essential travel is prohibited. Difficult choices, but they seem to be paying off.
The Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin said he was satisfied with these results and nevertheless recommends caution. For the leader, we must not slacken off and continue the fight, while accelerating the vaccination policy in place.
For Michael Martin, the arrival of a promising new vaccine under the Johnson & Johnson brand could also be a game-changer for the country. If it obtains approval from the European Medicines Agency next March, it would be an additional weapon in the fight against Covid-19.
Indeed, this new vaccine would have many logistical advantages: a single dose would be enough to be immunized, and its storage conditions would be facilitated (it could be stored in a simple refrigerator). These advantages would make it possible to radically accelerate the vaccination campaign and, according to the government, to foresee a possible return to normal by the end of the summer of 2021.
