Irish Examiner view: A stark contrast in pandemic responses

England is ready to relax the rules on wearing face masks while Ireland looks to have 68% of the adult population fully vaccinated by September

A person walks past a sign telling people to wear a face mask in Nottingham during England's third national lockdown in January; English people will no longer be forced to wear masks from July 19.

It is difficult, after 18 months of pandemic restrictions and more than 5,000 deaths, to summon the stoicism that can be so valuable at moments of great difficulty. 

Two events underlined this yesterday.