WHO Covid envoy: Ireland faces a lot of sickness and death in next two months

Dr David Nabarro, one of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) special envoys on Covid-19: Photo credit: Imperial College London/PA Wire

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro has warned that there is going to be “a lot of sickness and death in Ireland in the next two months” if people are not careful.

Dr Nabarro told Newstalk Breakfast that there is a middle path between a complete lockdown and the easing of restrictions. A national lockdown should only be considered when figures are “very bad”.

He said that while he hates second-guessing governments, if he was sitting next to the Chief Medical Officer and chatting about the situation, he would suggest that the focus should be on everyone adhering to the preventative measures.

Dr Nabarro also said that he does not like fines (for non-compliance to regulations). He said he prefers people to choose to do the right thing. “That's how to get things moving. We’ve got to deal with this because we want to.” 

A robust system to test, trace and isolate needs to be in place for every county so that outbreaks can be identified and dealt with as they arise. There also needs to be a system of financial supports so people do not fear losing money if they do not go to work because they are sick, he said.

Not moving from Level 3 to Level 5 is risky, he added. It will be a month to six weeks before it will be known if that has been the “right pathway". Dr Nabarro pointed out that there has been real build-up of the virus in other parts of Europe and there is no reason to believe that Ireland is going to escape.

“If you're going to stay at Level 3 then please do everything to stop the spread of the virus,” he urged.