The Health Service Executive (HSE) has sought to distance itself from comments made in The Irish Times by one its senior executives that “draconian” Covid-19 restrictions were no longer justified. Dr Martin Feeley, the clinical director of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, said Covid-19 is “much less severe” than the average annual flu. Dr Feeley is critical of the media and the public “obsession” with daily case numbers, when so few people are being admitted to hospital or intensive care units. Dr Henry emphasised there had been 28 million cases and 900,000 deaths from Covid-19 since it was declared a global pandemic on March 11st. Photograph: Colin Keegan, Collins DublinHe refuted the suggestion from Dr Feeley that young people should be allowed to get the disease to encourage herd immunity.

Source: The Irish Times September 12, 2020 14:31 UTC