Irish Examiner view: Undermining war on Covid-19

Gardaí had to intervene in the uplands of Wicklow to send home people who travelled there to play in the snow. 

Two reports over the weekend, each telling diametrically opposed stories, show how very difficult it is to contain the pandemic, especially if a large cohort of people persistently imagine themselves beyond the regulations and ignore the ever-more-important stay-at-home advice.

Just as the head of the HSE warned that the health system is under “increasing strain” as the number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients has reached 1,421, and even as vaccines were administered around the country, gardaí had to intervene in the uplands of Wicklow to send home people who travelled there to play in the snow.