Donohoe: Government will do whatever is needed to cope with Covid-19

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says the government will do whatever is needed to cope with the impact of coronavirus.

“Clarity and honesty are important,” he stressed. “We have to do all we can to prepare. At this stage, we need to do all we can to minimise the spread of the virus. Everyone has to be responsible for our private health."

Mr Donohoe, who was speaking on RTÉ radio said the scale of what the Government needs to do is unprecedented.

Every day will make a difference but the challenge of making extraordinary decisions is being able to sustain it for as long as possible.

“Decisions have already been made that in normal times would look extraordinary but they have been made because we are in extraordinary times.”

Mr Donoghue said he has the “utmost trust” in the work being done by the HSE and in the expertise of the chief medical officer at the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan and his team.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, said they were trying to provide proportionate responses.

The response needs to be health-driven, not from politicians doing solo runs, he said.

“We need to move based on good public health advice and not political decisions," he said.

Mr Coveney said the Government is not ruling out any course of action.

“The challenge is to slow down infection, to give health authorities time to cope.”

However, any measures are only going to work if the public cooperates.

“Together, we can save lives,” he said.

Mr Coveney said that even if only a small percentage of those infected suffer a significant health impact, the fatal percentage could mean thousands of deaths.

Meanwhile, the Irish Pharmacy Union said patients with Covid-19 symptoms should not go to a pharmacy.

The IPU said pharmacy staff must be protected from unnecessary exposure to coronavirus so they can continue to provide services as the illness spread.

It also warned against stockpiling medication that could create unintended shortages and put other patients’’ health at risk.

The Irish College of General Practitioners has asked patients not to attend their GP practice or out-of-hours service without an appointment.

Useful information
• The HSE have developed an information pack on how to protect yourself and others from coronavirus. Read it here
• Anyone with symptoms of coronavirus who has been in close contact with a confirmed case in the last 14 days should isolate themselves from other people - this means going into a different, well-ventilated room alone, with a phone; phone their GP, or emergency department - if this is not possible, phone 112 or 999 and in a medical emergency (if you have severe symptoms) phone 112 or 999