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How is international media reporting Ireland's dramatic Covid-19 surge that has taken it from one of the lightest-affected in Europe to a global hotspot in a matter of weeks?
Always interesting to see an international perspective.
A press review:
Always interesting to see an international perspective.
A press review:
"Ireland is the country in the world where the epidemic is spreading the fastest, ahead of the Czechia and the United Kingdom," reports Belgium's @RTBFinfo https://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail_l-irlande-est-le-pays-au-monde-ou-le-covid-se-repand-le-plus-vite-a-cause-du-variant-britannique-ou-du-relachement-de-noel?id=10669049
"It must be said that the Irish situation is in fact much more serious: if in the United Kingdom, infections have increased by 50% in one week, in Ireland, they have quadrupled!" @RTBFinfo adds
"The Irish lockdown miracle was an illusion" writes @osbcri of Germany's NTV. "Europe looked fascinated at the supposed miracle of the republic, the Irish strategy seemed to be working... but the disillusionment came on Boxing Day." https://amp.n-tv.de/panorama/Das-irische-Lockdown-Wunder-war-eine-Illusion-article22271299.html
"Ireland now has an extraordinarily high seven-day incidence of around 503.6. For comparison: In Germany this value is around 136.5," @obscri adds
"The number of Covid cases in Ireland is rising so fast that the country has the highest infection rate in Europe since Friday," reports @estermeerman. "Several hospitals have put in place emergency plans to deal with the influx of patients." https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/01/08/ierland-heeft-nu-hoogste-besmettingsgraad-van-europa-a4026773
"The Coronavirus is once again on the rise in Ireland. And that is not because of the new 'British' mutation, but because of a slightly too cozy Christmas. Irish people often visited each other," Dutch outlet @metro reports https://www.metronieuws.nl/in-het-nieuws/buitenland/2021/01/coronagolf-in-ierland-vanwege-gezellige-kerst-italie-stelt-opening-skipistes-uit/
"Just a few weeks ago, Ireland had one of the lowest infection rates in Europe. However, since the government eased restrictions before Christmas, the five-day average has more than tripled in the past two weeks" reports Germany's @tagesschau https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/irland-verhaengt-lockdown-101.html
"A boom in cases," reports Italy's @Idart87, with "exponential growth in less than a month" https://www.fanpage.it/esteri/il-caso-irlanda-crescita-esponenziale-dei-casi-in-meno-di-un-mese-tutto-chiuso-fino-a-febbraio/
"Ireland suspends hospital services and plans to close schools due to Coronavirus" reports @europapress https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-irlanda-suspende-servicios-hospitalarios-plantea-cerrar-colegios-coronavirus-20210104230230.html
"Martin’s government relaxed restrictions last month, a tactic that may have contributed to one of the world’s highest contagion rates in recent days... his administration has also come under fire for the vaccination program’s slow pace," reports @business https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-06/ireland-adds-new-restrictions-in-battle-with-deadly-virus
Covid "rampant in Ireland" primarily due to socialising at Christmas, not new variant, reports @floorbouma in Dutch paper NRC. "According to experts, these figures only show the tip of the iceberg and the actual size of the outbreak is much larger." https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/01/02/heropleving-corona-uitbraak-in-ierland-door-kerstdagen-a4025961
China's Xinhua lays out restrictions.
"The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ireland topped 100,000 as the country reported a record high... Under the Level-5 restrictions, people are not allowed to travel more than 5 kilometers away from home"
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-01/04/c_139638965.htm
"The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ireland topped 100,000 as the country reported a record high... Under the Level-5 restrictions, people are not allowed to travel more than 5 kilometers away from home"
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-01/04/c_139638965.htm
Taiwan's United Daily News reports record cases in Ireland as part of a "severe European epidemic". "The Irish government announced today that schools will remain closed in January due to a wave of "infection tsunami" that may overwhelm" health services https://udn.com/news/story/120944/5154315
"Increased socialising around Christmas: and not a new COVID-19 variant: has driven Ireland's rapid transformation from having the lowest infection rate in the European Union to the fastest rate of deterioration," reports @ChannelNewsAsia https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/irish-covid-19-surge-driven-by-socialising-not-new-variant-13881690
Japan's @jijicom reports Taoiseach Micheál Martin announcing he will "lock down the whole country".
"A highly contagious mutation that is prevalent in the neighboring UK is spreading throughout the country," the news agency reports https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2020123100150&g=int
"A highly contagious mutation that is prevalent in the neighboring UK is spreading throughout the country," the news agency reports https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2020123100150&g=int
"Martin warned that the new strain of Corona virus is spreading at a rate that exceeded the most pessimistic models available," reports Egypt's @masrawy, saying Ireland is returning to "complete lockdown" https://www.masrawy.com/news/news_publicaffairs/details/2020/12/30/1941953/
Google fights my attempts to find results in many locations and languages based on its assumptions about what I want to see so please do ping me any interesting coverage I don't have here.
A bit of a cursed piece from Italy's Europa Today from December 18 just as things began to go south... "From Berlin to Rome through Amsterdam, we are preparing for a Christmas lockdown, while in Dublin even the gyms are reopening" https://europa.today.it/attualita/irlanda-pub-ristoranti-covid.html
In Uruguay, @luisarmando930 reports "The increase in contacts during Christmas and the fact that the new variant is more contagious has placed the number of daily infections above 5,000, compared to just over 200 registered a month ago" h/t @rivasmj https://www.radiomontecarlo.com.uy/2021/01/06/nacionales/irlanda-entra-en-su-tercer-confinamiento-y-cierra-la-escuelas-tres-semanas/
United Arab Emirates: "Ireland had one of the lowest infection rates in Europe a few weeks ago, but its 7-day average has tripled over the past 14 days to 1,034 cases following an easing of public health measures ahead of Christmas" - Reuters h/t @yerraya http://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/ireland-starts-covid-19-vaccinations-as-cases-surge-to-all-time-high
Romania: "Ireland announced the the strictest Covid-19 restrictions since early last year following a "tsunami" of infections caused by the new strain that raised hospitalisations to a record level with fears the health system will be overwhelmed" @rivasmj https://www.g4media.ro/irlanda-a-anuntat-cele-mai-stricte-restrictii-legate-de-noul-coronavirus-de-la-inceputul-anului-trecut.html
The Netherlands is also next door to Britain, so the big question for them is: 'is this new variant going to hit us next and cause the same thing?'
Explanation by @President_MU et al that the surge is not due to the mutation therefore given high importance https://twitter.com/sonicthebadger/status/1347899069272891392?s=20
Explanation by @President_MU et al that the surge is not due to the mutation therefore given high importance https://twitter.com/sonicthebadger/status/1347899069272891392?s=20
